WASHINGTON – The James W. Foley Legacy Foundation announced today the winners of its 2025 Foley Freedom Awards. The awards will be presented on April 29, 2025, at a fundraising event at the National Press Club honoring the legacy of James Foley, a conflict journalist who while reporting in Syria was kidnapped by ISIS terrorists in 2012 and then brutally murdered in 2014.
The Foley Foundation is dedicated to freeing Americans held captive abroad, preventing future hostage taking, and promoting journalist safety. The awards honor those who demonstrate moral courage in areas of hostage freedom, press freedom, humanitarianism, and government service.
Diane Foley, founder and president of the Foundation said, “James W. Foley’s legacy of moral courage lives on in these extraordinary awardees. I invite you to join us and be inspired by their leadership and brave example.”
The award winners are:
James W. Foley American Hostage Freedom Award – Josh Geltzer, deputy assistant to the president, deputy White House counsel and legal adviser to the National Security Council (NSC). Previously, as NSC senior director for counterterrorism, he played a leading role in the 2015 hostage policy review that led to Presidential Policy Directive 30. That directive established a new federal structure for recovering Americans held hostage abroad, including the creation of the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, Hostage Response Group at the White House, and a dedicated family support team.
James W. Foley World Press Freedom Award – Christiane Amanpour, the chief international anchor for CNN and host of the PBS program Amanpour and Company. Amanpour has reported from trouble spots all over the world, including the Persian Gulf War, the Kurdish uprising in northern Iraq, the 1992 outbreak of violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the pro-democracy movement in Eastern Europe, and many others. She formerly hosted the ABC news program This Week and has been a contributor to the CBS program 60 Minutes. She is the recipient of numerous honors including the Edward R. Murrow Award and in 2007 she was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
James W. Foley Humanitarian Award – Pari Ibrahim, executive director of the Free Yezidi Foundation, which was established in response to the 2014 ISIS genocide against the Yezidis, a Kurdish speaking religious group from Western Asia. Ibrahim was born in Iraq and is of Yezidi descent. She established the foundation, which advocates for the rights of women, religious and ethnic minorities, and Yezidi genocide survivors. Its programs include establishment of women’s and children’s centers, collaboration with international justice mechanisms and law enforcement agencies to hold ISIS perpetrators accountable, and the creation of an enterprise and training center. Ibrahim has spoken before the UN Security Council and the UK Parliament, and has been published in media outlets, including The Washington Post and The Guardian.
James W. Foley Legacy Achievement Award: A Profile in Moral Courage – Judy Woodruff, senior correspondent and the former anchor and managing editor of the PBS News Hour. She has covered politics and other news for five decades at NBC, CNN, and PBS. Woodruff is a founding co-chair of the International Women’s Media Foundation. She serves on various boards, including the Freedom Forum, the Duke Endowment, and the Urban Institute. She has won many awards, including the Duke Distinguished Alumni Award, the Edward R. Murrow Lifetime Achievement Award in Broadcast Journalism/Television, and the University of Southern California Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism.
Robert A. Levinson Excellence in Government Service Award – Sandrea Hwang, national intelligence manager for counterintelligence and assistant director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) and adjunct assistant professor at the Center for Security Studies at Georgetown University. Hwang previously served as the White House lead for hostage recovery issues. From 2015-2017 she was the first intelligence advisor to the director of the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell. In this role, she helped declassify and share information with hostage families and formulate hostage recovery strategies.
The recipient of a sixth award to be presented at the event, the Bill Richardson Heart of a Patriot Award, will be announced separately in conjunction with the award’s sponsor, Global Reach. The award memorializes the life and achievements of the late ambassador, governor of New Mexico, and U.S. energy secretary whose actions after leaving public service resulted in the freeing of Americans wrongfully detained or held hostage. The award recognizes someone who has, after their service in government, leveraged their skills and experiences to work to bring home Americans held overseas.
