Karen A. Padilla

Parenting support specialist with expertise in assisting families engaged with child protective services. Incoming master of social work student at Western Michigan University, dedicated to empowering families through culturally responsive and strengths-based approaches. Proven ability to foster resilience and promote positive family dynamics.

• Family & Children Services, Parenting Education Specialist. Provide parenting education, supervised visitation, and resource support to CPS-involved families while collaborating with multidisciplinary teams.

• Dean’s list, Spring 2022, Summer I 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Summer I 2024, Fall 2024
• Clarence L. Remynse Scholarship recipient, 2022-2023, 2023-2024, 2024-2025
• Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship recipient, 2021-2022, 2022-2023, 2023-2024, 2024-2025
• Western Michigan University Department of World languages and Literature’s recipient of Excellence in French award 2025.

• El Concilio, ESL Tutor, 2024, Teach English to immigrants of the Latinx community to help them better assimilate to the United States.
• SPCA of Southwest Michigan, 2023 - Present, Walked dogs to help manage shelter stress., Took photos of shelter animals for online profiles to help improve adoptability. Interacted and worked with fearful dogs with history of abuse to regain human trust.

• Psi Chi, 2024, Honor society in Psychology.
• Lee Honors College, 2024, Requirement of holding and maintaining a minimum 3.5 GPA.
• The National French Honor Society, Pi Delta Phi, 2025, Honor society dedicated to recognizing outstanding scholars in French language and its literatures.
• Phi Beta Kappa, Nation's oldest and most prestigious academic honor society, founded in 1776.

• Research Assistant, Mejor Prevenir que Lamentar, Child Maltreatment and Unintentional Injury Lab, Western Michigan University, 2022 - Present, Culturally modified existing resources to maximize the engagement of Latinx families in a child-injury prevention program.
• Translated and transcribed research materials, assisted with data entry into SPSS, engaged in literature discussion, assisted with childcare.
• Original Lee Honors Research Project, Caregivers’ Satisfaction and Perceived Cultural Sensitivity of a Modification of a Child Injury Prevention Program for Spanish-Speaking Families, Western Michigan University, 2024 - Present. Created an original investigation and conducted research. Ran statistical analysis, Wrote an APA style report, Presented and defended my thesis in front of a committee.
• Research Assistant, Behavioral Economics Research Collaborative, Western Michigan University, 2024, NIH/NIDA-funded Randomized Controlled Trial. Evaluated the safety, contingency management effectiveness, clinical effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of the standard DynamiCare Health smartphone-smartcard platform as a means of promoting health and recovery for patients with opioid use disorders who are seeking treatment.

• Dog Trainer, SPCA of Southwest Michigan, 2024, Used behavioral principles to train shelter dogs behaviors to increase adoption success.
• Behavior Technician, Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency, 2024, Used Applied Behavior Analysis to teach children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) the needed skills to succeed in the American school system.