Christina Padilla is a senior research scientist who is dedicated to improving the lives and outcomes of young children and families through research and policy. She is a developmental psychologist whose research focuses on evaluating how to best support caregivers and children in low-resource contexts through two-generation programs and supports, including Head Start, home visiting, and supports that promote economic wellbeing.

Padilla has extensive experience designing and conducting research studies, including evaluations, and employs a mix of advanced quantitative methods and community-engaged research methods in her work. At Child Trends, she has served as principal investigator for both an Administration for Children and Families-funded study on Head Start supports during the pandemic and a project with Sesame Workshop to develop and evaluate emotional wellbeing resources for early childhood providers.

Padilla’s prior experience includes working in DC state government on early childhood programs and policies, including the Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five, the District’s Quality Rating and Improvement System, and Early Head Start. She has published in several child development, developmental psychology, and pediatric journals, and has co-authored multiple book chapters on child development and public policy. Before coming to Child Trends, Christina completed three research fellowships, including a postdoctoral state policy fellowship with the Society for Research in Child Development and predoctoral fellowships with the Doris Duke Fellowship for the Promotion of Child Well-Being and the National Research Center on Hispanic Children and Families. Christina earned her PhD in Developmental Psychology and her Master’s in Public Policy at Georgetown University.