Kristina Padilla, MA, LAADC
A Rainbow Person’s Journey From Addiction to Recovery
Kristina Padilla is a nationally acclaimed motivational speaker and author of Kristina with a K: A Rainbow Person’s Journey from Addiction to Recovery, an explosive expose into the lives of LGBTQ people experiencing addiction. Mx. Padilla’s personal story sheds light on what many young LGBTQ people with addiction experience. She/they shares the chapters of her life and then presents carefully researched explanations as to why LGBTQ individuals face the challenges they do with regard to substance use disorder.
Mx. Padilla is an independent consultant on LGBTQIA2+ program development; Addiction Technology transfer center Trainer and “Equality California” Leadership Academy fellow; Vice President of Education and Strategic Development with the California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals; Chief Academic Officer for the CCAPP Academy; previous Program Director/Adjunct Faculty of the Peer Support Training and Placement Program; served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Addiction Professionals and their Allies, the Board of Directors for the Women’s Association of Addiction Treatment, the National Alliance for Mental Illness Sacramento Chapter, Native American Institute in New Mexico, and consults for Faces and Voices National Recovery Institute. She/they is enrolled as a student at the Clinton Global Initiative University and is the Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee at the California Society of Association Executives.
Mx. Padilla obtained her/their “Higher Education Teaching Certificate” at Harvard, at the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning and her/their Women’s Leadership Program (WLP) Certificate from Yale University School of Management. Mx. Padilla has a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Administration and a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis on Marriage and Family Therapy. She/they is a Licensed Advanced Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor, and an International Certified Advanced Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor. She/they is a Certified Gang Specialist of the National Gang Crime Research Center and a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist Candidate.
