Katrin Márquez Announced As Fifth Elfie Gallun Fellow In Freedom And The Constitution

Katrin Márquez will be the fifth person with this prestigious title that, since 2014, honors the legacy of longtime IJ supporters Elfie and Ned Gallun.

Elfie’s story reminds us of the fragile nature of liberty. After living under Hitler’s Germany and Stalin’s East Germany, she risked everything to flee from totalitarian rule—even crawling across the remains of a railroad bridge in the dark of night to reach freedom. Elfie established this Fellowship to carry forth her fighting spirit.

Katrin has her own story of escaping tyranny. Born in Havana, Cuba, she was just 6 when her parents—labeled as political dissidents by the Communist government—managed to immigrate to America through the visa lottery program. Katrin now joins IJ in protecting the right to liberty that her family was never able to enjoy in their homeland.

“Having been born in a Communist country, I’m thankful every day that I get to fight to protect people’s freedoms in honor of Elfie Gallun. She understood just how precious freedom is and she fought for it. And, because she did, now I get to draw inspiration from her legacy,” says Katrin.

Katrin re-joined IJ in 2023 as an attorney after first serving as an IJ Dave Kennedy Fellow and IJ Constitutional Law Fellow and clerking for two federal judges. As the Elfie Gallun Fellow, Katrin will litigate to advance liberty and publish and speak about vital constitutional rights.