I just upgraded to Mac Catalina and microsoft word is not compatible. how do i upgrade? who do i contact

If you have Office 2011 or older, there are no updates. Microsoft has declared those versions obsolete and no longer supports them. The only way to update Office 2011 or older is to buy a new copy.

Office 2016, if it were updated via Microsoft Auto Updater routinely during the time you owned it, will be Catalina-compatible.

If you ignored the Office 2016 update notices before installing Catalina, you will need to contact Microsoft for a new updater utility.

Office 2019 and Office 365 are completely Catalina-compatible.

You would need to contact Microsoft to inquire about an update.

Alternately, you can also download Microsoft Word from the Mac App Store as well.