About the Course

This course is a prerecorded 2-hour video replay from a webinar by the same name.

Building Bridges of Inclusion: 2SLGBTQIA+ Rainbow Community 101, with Kristina Padilla, MA, LAADC, ICAADC, CGS, Vice President of Education and Strategic Development, is a comprehensive training designed to promote understanding, acceptance, and allyship within the diverse 2SLGBTQIA+ community. This training provides participants with valuable knowledge of pronouns, definitions, and the importance of creating inclusive spaces. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the unique experiences and challenges individuals face within the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. By the end of the training, participants will be equipped
with the tools to become better allies, fostering a more inclusive and supportive environment for all. Join us in Building Bridges of Inclusion and play an active role in promoting equality and acceptance for everyone.

About the Trainer

Kristina Padilla is world-renowned as a national speaker and educator, advocating the principle of “living out loud.” They foster safer environments nationwide by conducting 2S/LGBTQIA+ educational talks and training sessions globally. They are a 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. Kristina is a leader with CCAPP, where they serve as the organization’s Vice President of Education and Strategic Development.

Mx. Padilla led California’s innovative criminal justice program, serving as the Offender Mentor Certification Program Director for three years. There, they managed 12 in-prison programs for training counselors. For the duration of the contract, they worked closely with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) in California prisons, bringing innovation and growth to the state’s in-custody treatment programming.

Mx. Padilla sat on SAMHSA’s Technical Expert Panel on Peer Support certification and helped SAMHSA develop National Model Standards for Peer Support Certification. They also Facilitated the First SAMHSA LGBTQIA2+ Office of Recovery Meeting at the Grand Hyatt in San Francisco in May 2024.

Mx. Padilla was also the previous Program Director/Adjunct Faculty of the Peer Support Training and Placement Program, which trained peers in Recovery/mental health to become certified and how to work with other peers in recovery, such as self-direction, advocacy, ethics, person-centered approach, personalization, empowerment, strength base, goal setting, respect, cultural sensitivity, and competency, responsibility, hope at the very core of the program.

Mx. Padilla has a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Administration and a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology, emphasizing Marriage and Family Therapy. Mx. Padilla is a Licensed Advanced Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor (LAADC) and an International Certified Advanced Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor (ICAADC). They are also Certified Gang Specialists of the National Gang Crime Research Center (NGCRC) and a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist Candidate (C-SAT).

Mx. Padilla is on the Board of Directors as the Vice president of the National Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Addiction Professionals and their Allies (NALGAP). Mx. Padilla is the Chief Academic Officer for the CCAPP Academy at CCAPP and is a past Board member of the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) Sacramento chapter.

Mx. Padilla sits on the board of (NATI) Native American Institute in New Mexico and is Treasure and a consultant for Faces and Voices NRI (National Recovery Institute) & serves on their DEI Committee. Mx. Padilla graduated from the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGIU) in 2023 and is the Chair of the (DEI) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee at the California Society of Association Executives (CALSAE).

Mx. Padilla is on multiple DEI and LGBTQIA2+ boards nationwide and is deeply impacting the provision of Training, Advocacy, and Education to all professionals. They are also independent consultants on LGBTQIA2+ Program Development and design/issues/services/Counseling/Mentoring/Training and Coaching and travel the Nation providing training and lectures at conferences and in-service training for non-profits, for-profits, county, and state workers.

Mx. Padilla is also an Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) Trainer and “Equality California” Leadership Academy fellow. Mx. Padilla obtained their “Higher Education Teaching Certificate ” at Harvard, The Derek Bok Center For Teaching and Learning in July 2020, and their Women Leadership Program (WLP) Certificate from Yale University School of Management in 2022.

 In closing, Mx. Padilla is a parent to a beautiful 8-year-old girl named Karisma. They are also part of the 2SLGBTQIA+ (Rainbow) Community and identify as indigenous, Western Apache, Cherokee, Aztec, 2Spirit-Transgender, Gender-Fluid, non-binary, same-gender loving, biologically born Women. Kristina’s pronouns are They/Them and go by the prefix Mx. Padilla.