Meet Catherine Anaya | Three-time Emmy-award winning journalist and television host

We had the good fortune of connecting with Catherine Anaya and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Catherine, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I’m from Santa Ana, California. I’m a fourth generation Latina. I’m currently writing my memoir (which will become a gift for my children) so I’m immersed in my childhood memories right now. I’m realizing that my parents’ divorce at eight years old was far more traumatic than I realized and absolutely shaped the person I’ve become. The internal and external challenges that family situation created though, also gave me strength, fierce independence, resilience and tenacity that has served me well in my life and in my broadcast journalism career. I have been on my own since I was 17 when I left for college. I became the first in my generation to obtain a college degree. Four years at the University of Southern California gave me the confidence and determination to go after my dream of a career in television news at a time when there were few Latinas on the air and even fewer in decision-making positions. After a 25-year news career that I’m very proud of, I “retired” from traditional news to focus on my children during a dark and difficult time following the unexpected death of their father. I have not regretted that decision for one moment. It gave us the present of presence and we are better because of it. I learned how to shift my priorities while continuing to contribute to my profession and community in a deeper, more personal way. I still emcee for nonprofits and organizations that are dear to my heart. I hosted a podcast focused on inspiring and empowering women for nearly a decade. I’m now hosting Horizonte, an Arizona PBS series dedicated to issues and topics of importance to Arizona’s Hispanic community. I love shining a light on the positive and impactful happenings in our community. My incredible husband and I have been empty nesters for two years now and we are enjoying each other and our zest for travel. We are a blended family of six.  I have two bonus kids who truly are the bonus to our 10-year marriage and I am the mother of two amazing children: my daughter (a Public Relations whiz living on the East Coast) and my son (a junior in the W.P. Carey School of Business at ASU). They are the lights of my life and a living testament to the grit that got me through a challenging upbringing and the grace I found in slowing down, stepping back, and reprioritizing what really matters in life. I’m more confident and appreciative of who I have become, now more than ever.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I spent 25 years as a news anchor, earning three Emmy Awards and garnering 10 Emmy nominations. I spent the majority of those years behind the anchor desk in Texas, Indiana, Phoenix (the first time), Los Angeles, and Phoenix again. I’ve stayed in front of the camera on a part-time basis since leaving traditional news and currently host Horizonte, a groundbreaking weekly series on Arizona PBS that has served as a platform for Arizona’s Hispanic community for more than two decades. I enjoy talking to leaders, experts, and members of the community about issues and topics of particular interest to Arizona’s Latino community. I’m most proud of the fearlessness I had in carving my career. I was a 22-year-old who left L.A. with a car packed with everything I own and set out for a small town in Texas to solo anchor the morning news at the number one station in the market. I had never anchored professionally before and I was also tasked with writing and producing the newscast, along with running my own teleprompter. Talk about baptism by fire! I was inexperienced, very green and looked like I was 15. Years later I asked the news director who hired me, why he hired me and he said when he watched my resume tape, he saw a spark that told him I had something special and was worth banking on. It took just one person taking a chance on me to change the entire course of my life. The lesson in that is to embrace every opportunity, even the ones that can seem the scariest. I didn’t know if I’d get beyond that first job when I took it, but I knew I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t have the courage to find out. I’ve tried to impart that fire-in-the-belly attitude to the students and co-workers I’ve helped mentor through the years. I’ve especially tried to model that for my children. Every mess is a message. Every test is a testimony. There is opportunity in every difficulty.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We would start the day with a hot yoga class at Frequency 108 in North Scottsdale or an intense GTX class with Mario or a Kettlebell Kombine class with Diana at Lifetime Fitness North Scottsdale. We’d grab a post workout vegan buzz at d’lite Healthy On The Go, do some shopping at Scottsdale Quarter or lie by the pool if it’s nice out. If it’s the weekend, maybe we’ll grab a nice brunch at CALA in Old Town Scottsdale. For dinner, if it’s a happy hour, early dinner kind of night we’d go to Habaneros Mexican Grill & Cantina in Scottsdale. They have – hands down – the. best. nachos. in. town. It’s my favorite food, so trust me when I tell you that! Or, Il Bosco Pizza for their divine wood-fired pies that are the absolute best with vegan cheese as an option. If it’s a later dinner out, we’d grab a few bottles of wine, call an Uber and head over to Giuseppe’s Ristorante in Scottsdale. It is amazing Italian food hosted by its charming and hilarious owner Pasquale and his stellar staff. The Valley is home to some of the best restaurants so there would be no shortage of delicious options and with perfect weather, almost year-round, we’d spend as much time as possible outside, enjoying it!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
First and foremost, I have to give credit to my mother for making education a priority from the time she started teaching me to read as a toddler. She taught me the value of a higher education and I never believed for a moment that I wouldn’t go to college nor that I couldn’t attend a university. She was a senior in high school when she gave birth to me at 17. She still finished. Then, in her 30’s, she went back to school and was eventually accepted to the University of Southern California where she graduated with a degree in political science, just one semester before I started at USC as a freshman! Talk about setting an example. Professionally, I have been blessed with several mentors who took me under their wing when I was first starting out in the news business. It wasn’t until I anchored in Los Angeles and was paired alongside a beloved news icon that I experienced the true mentorship of a woman. She gave me valuable advice about being a leader in the newsroom, balancing a high profile job with motherhood outside the newsroom, how to advocate for myself, and how to champion and empower other women without competition. I would be remiss if I also didn’t acknowledge one of the few women news directors I’ve had the pleasure of working under, who valued me from day one (even though she didn’t hire me). She treated me with respect, even when we disagreed and she gave me a platform to share positive stories when I felt our newscasts needed more of them. Finally, I have to give a huge shoutout to my husband. His love, respect, and appreciation for me and everything I stand for gave me the impetus to step away from traditional news and put my children and family first on every level. It was an easy decision made easier by his support and encouragement.

Website: catherineanaya.com

Instagram: @catherineanaya

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherineanaya/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CatherineAnaya

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CatherineAnayaTV

Youtube: www.youtube.com/@CatherineAnaya

Image Credits
Sarah Hoag Photography
Chris Loomis Photography