From our President & Founder
Dear Reader,
It is my great joy to tell you about our beloved son, James Wright Foley. Jim was the oldest of our five children, curious, and fun-loving from birth. Stories delighted him, inspiring much imaginative play as a child. He was goofy, daring, and brave.
Listening was one of Jim’s gifts and the reason for his wide, diverse circle of friends. He always took time to listen, making him often late, but endearing him to all. He knew everyone had a story, that ordinary people were truly extraordinary, that moments of tiny beauty could become epic. He was open to the world and so the world opened itself to him.
As a freelance journalist, Jim knew that Syria was becoming more dangerous but felt compelled to bring the stories of the Syrian people to us. Jim was kidnapped on Thanksgiving Day 2012, tortured, and starved for two years before being publicly beheaded by ISIS because he was an American journalist.
Jim’s moral courage challenged me to start the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation three weeks after his murder, to prioritize freedom for innocent Americans taken captive abroad, promote journalist safety, and inspire moral courage one person at a time.
Jim lives on through our work and all the people Jim has inspired. I invite you to join our Foley Foundation community and dare to use your gifts for good in our world.
Wishing you strength and hope always,
Diane Foley
President & Founder
Chronicling Jim’s Life
1973
James Wright Foley was born on October 18 in Evanston, Illinois. He was the first-born son of Diane and John Foley of Rochester, New Hampshire. Jim grew up in the beautiful town of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. He was the oldest of five children.
1992
After graduating from Kingswood High School in 1992, Jim chose to further his education at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Jim graduated from Marquette in 1996.
1996-1999
After graduating from Marquette University with an undergraduate degree in history and Spanish, Jim was accepted into both the Peace Corps and Teach for America. Jim chose Teach for America to put his fluent Spanish to use. Jim taught and coached basketball at Lowell Elementary School in the inner city of Phoenix.
1999-2003
Jim was drawn to writing and completed a Master of Fine Arts program in creative writing at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst in 2003. While in Massachusetts, he volunteered at the Care Center in Holyoke with unwed mothers to assist them in obtaining their GED and sharing their stories.
2003-2004
Jim returned to Phoenix where he spent a year working on a novel.
2004-2006
Jim accepted a position at the Cook County Boot Camp and moved to Chicago, IL where he taught reading and writing classes to young felons.
2007-2008
Jim was accepted into Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism where he studied journalism and found a way to merge his interest in writing with his compassion for the poor, disadvantaged, and suffering. Jim graduated with a Master of Science degree in journalism in 2008.
2008
Starting in 2008, Jim worked for USAID-funded projects in Iraq. Jim helped organize conferences and training seminars for a program designed to rebuild Iraq’s civil service, crippled by decades of isolation and autocratic administration. In 2008, he reported as an embedded journalist in Iraq with the U.S. 101st Airborne Division.
2009
Jim became an embedded journalist, in Nuristan, Nangahar and Kunar, Afghanistan, with the United States 4th Infantry Division and 10th Mountain Division.
2010
Jim left Iraq and applied for military embed-journalist accommodation status in Afghanistan to become a freelance journalist. He was an embedded journalist with U.S troops in Iraq, where his brother was serving as an officer in the United States Air Force.
2011
While working for the Boston-based GlobalPost, Jim went to Libya to cover the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi, embedding himself with rebel fighters. Jim was detained by the Libyan regime for 44 days and ultimately released.
2012
Jim began what would be many trips in and out of northern Syria as a freelance video journalist. He began cautiously, but gained confidence as he met kind and hospitable Syrians who offered him their generous hospitality. In October 2012, Jim was back in New Hampshire to visit family and friends who gathered to celebrate his birthday. Unfortunately, this was Jim’s last trip home.
James was kidnapped on Thanksgiving Day 2012 while working as a freelance conflict journalist in Syria. He had been reporting for Global Post of Boston and Agence France Press.
2014
On August 19, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria posted a video on Twitter (now X) depicting Jim’s brutal beheading because he was an American journalist. “We have never been prouder of our son, Jim. He gave his life trying to expose the world to the suffering of the Syrian people,” said his mother, Diane Foley.
2014
The Foundation was created on September 12, established soon after Jim’s death. Jim’s family and friends felt challenged to continue his legacy of commitment to the truth and compassion for those without a voice. That work continues to this day.
Jim’s Moral Courage
Jim’s Lasting Impact
Jim’s legacy endures through the Foley Foundation and its work to secure freedom for Americans held unjustly captive abroad and prevent future hostage taking.
We inspire moral courage one person at a time to value the return of our U.S. nationals taken captive abroad and journalists worldwide. We have driven critical policy and legislative changes, helped create the U.S. government’s “hostage enterprise,” advocated successfully for the return of over 100 Americans held captive abroad, and educated journalists and their employers to know how to protect themselves while carrying out their important work, work that underpins a healthy democracy.
In 2014, the Foley family established the James W. Foley Legacy Fund — later renamed the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation and widely known simply as the “Foley Foundation.”
Posthumous Awards for James W. Foley
- James W. Foley Medill Medal of Courage, Northwestern University
- James Foley Award for Conflict Reporting, Online Journalism Association
- James W. Foley Scholarship, Marquette University: Diederich College of Communication
- James W. Foley Middle East Fellowship at GroundTruth Project
- James W. Foley University of Massachusetts Memorial Writing Prize
- Doctorate in Human Letters, Plymouth State University
“I told my son I wished he had gotten to know Jim Foley, whose kindness and humanity had such an impact when he was here on earth and whose incredible legacy has impacted million around the globe.”
— Jen Easterly, 2018 James W. Foley Hostage Freedom Award Recipient
