Cristian is a proud Honduran with roots in rural Olancho where he and his family were born and raised. Cristian was brought as a 7-year-old child migrant into Atlanta, Georgia, where he remained throughout his public schooling years. Due to Gorgia's restrictive policies towards undocumented (including DACA like himself) students, Cristian went to Pomona College in California, where he received generous financial aid to attend. After falling in love with Latin American History in college, Cristian pursued a path in academia with the help of his mentors and the Mellon Mays Foundation and majored in Latin American Studies. Cristian is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Yale University's History program. Cristian's research and teaching philosophy focuses on the histories of social movements and rebellions throughout the regions he studies. Cristian believes in using history as a tool to think critically about the ways that ordinary people navigate and have challenged existing structures of power. Just as important and due to his focus on Latin America as a whole and Central America in particular, Cristian's research and teaching emphasize the history of U.S. empire and its impact on the region.

Publications/Presentations:

• Padilla Romero, Cristian. “’Destroying the Seeds’: The cruel origins of violence towards children in the United States and Central America.” Migrant Roots Media, January 2020.
• Padilla Romero, Cristian. Portillo, Suyapa. “Honduran Social Movements: Then and Now.” Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics. Oxford University Press, 2020.
• Portillo, Suyapa, Lopez-Casertano, Javier, and Padilla Romero, Cristian. “Honduras Holds Democracy Hostage.” NACLA Report on the Americas. December 12, 2017.
  
• Padilla, Cristian, Dave Welsh, and Chiapas Support Committee. “Warm California Welcome for Dr. Maryse Narcisse.” Haiti Solidarity: The News Letter of Haiti Action Committee, August 2017.