Ryan Kataoka enters his seventh year in the Herbst Academic Center after joining the University of Colorado staff in August of 2006.  In addition to being Assistant Director of the entire academic operation, he is the lead academic coordinator for the football and soccer teams.  He is also the supervisor of the academic mentors in the academic center.

Kataoka assisted in the development and implementation of the Success Training and Exit Plan for Seniors (STEPS) program which assists student-athletes in their transition to life after graduating from CU.  He was also part of the teaching team for the freshmen CU Experience course from for four years.

Prior to his arrival at CU, Kataoka was a high school teacher and coach for 10 years in the Tustin and Santa Ana Unified School Districts in Orange County, California.  He taught 9th through 12th grade English and Language Arts in his first eight years.  He spent his last two years as a program specialist, coordinating high school college and career centers.  He coached basketball and volleyball each year while in high school education.    

Kataoka completed a Masters Degree in Coaching and Athletic Administration at Concordia University, Irvine in 2012.  He has next set his sights on completing a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership, a program he began through California State University, Fullerton prior to his arrival to Colorado.  Kataoka graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 1996 with a Bachelor of Arts in English.  He earned a Single Subject Teaching Credential in Language Arts and a Cross-Cultural Language and academic development certification in 1997.  

A native of San Diego, California Kataoka graduated from Grossmont High School where he lettered in basketball, volleyball and football.  

He and his wife Suzanne have two young children.