Thomas "Tommy" J. Van Cleave (he/him) is an Intercultural Communication Scholar and Faculty Development Consultant. He earned his doctorate in Postsecondary Educational Leadership from Portland State University where he coordinated a graduate degree in international civic engagement and taught graduate courses on curriculum development and community engagement. He has facilitated or co-facilitated immersive and international civic engagement courses throughout the United States and in India, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Italy. He is strongly influenced by his Latinx/Mexican family heritage and queer identity. He also recognizes his cultural privilege as a cis-male descendant of homesteaders with northern European roots who 'settled' West via the Oregon Trail. The confluence of identities, both marginalized and privileged, shapes his work in creating experiences that disrupt the status quo and encourage new and more just ways of knowing.
