Ileana Cruz-Marden

PENN KEMBLE DEMOCRACY FORUM FELLOWS

Ileana Cruz-Marden currently serves as special assistant to Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor at the Supreme Court of the United States.  Before working in Justice Sotomayor’s chambers, Ileana interned in the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office of South & Central Asia, where she worked with the former Deputy Assistant USTR on evaluating progress in safety standards and workers’ rights in the Bangladeshi Ready-Made Garment industry for reinstatement of trade benefits under the Generalized Systems of Preferences program. She has worked with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee under former Chairman John Kerry, the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, and ConPRmetidos, a start-up social impact consulting firm in San Juan. She is also part of the leadership team of NxGen International Security Network, a peer-based network in D.C. for young professionals in foreign policy.  A 2013 Truman Scholar from Puerto Rico, Ileana graduated summa cum laude from the University of Puerto Rico with a BA in Political Science.  Her interests are focused on the ways foreign policy, governance, and local economic development intersect to affect societies in crisis—specifically around foreign aid efforts.  She is fluent in Spanish.