From Tragedy to Triumph: How Diane Foley and AU Students Amplify a Legacy of Courage and Advocacy

"Writing the book is only 50% of the work," Diane Foley says her co-author National Book Award-winner Colum McCann told her. The other 50% - the hard part - is to get the book out into the public eye, to help readers find the book, to help connect the audience to the story and inspire them to act. For this they turned to American University (AU) students in School of Communication (SOC) professor Gemma Puglisi's class.

A decade ago, Diane Foley's life changed forever when her son, freelance journalist Jim Foley, was kidnapped by the terrorist organization ISIS. After years of torture, during which Diane Foley tried every way she could to bring him home, he was executed.

Three weeks later, she began the process to found the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, to "prioritize freedom for innocent Americans captive abroad, promote journalist safety, and inspire moral courage one person at a time." It was around this time that Foley initially met Puglisi through a friend of hers who happened to be Foley's relative. Upon meeting and learning about the plans for the foundation, Puglisi asked if there was any way her students could help. Absolutely, said Foley. She needed research to support her argument that US policy toward bringing home kidnap victims was flawed. She also wanted to build awareness. "She wanted people to know Jim's name. She wanted them to remember James Foley and understand who he was, why he was there, and what happened to him," said Puglisi.

Foley has raised awareness about international hostage taking through her government advocacy, the documentary, Jim: the James Foley Story, and opinion pieces in The New York Times, The Washington Post and USA Today. Puglisi's 2014 class was able to deliver reams of research on the policies of countries across the world to demonstrate that American policy was uniquely prohibitive of individual actions to free hostages and was acting as a barrier to bringing home US citizens who were wrongfully detained abroad. They also took to social media with a campaign that targeted the Obama White House, among other US leaders on the issue. And the campaign was a success. Puglisi feels that the students' work played a small role in helping Foley's cause. US policy did change, and Obama cited Foley's work as a primary reason, saying that she was right, the nation needed to do better for its citizens captured abroad.

Puglisi partners with non-profit clients each year to deliver hands-on, real-world strategic communication experience to her students, who thrive in a structured, supportive class environment while also stretching their skill sets to grow as practicing communicators. "I'm proud that this class has a rich history of helping so many nonprofits and organizations. The students do real work with incredible results, leaving quite a legacy. When the semester is over, both the students and the clients feel such a sense of gratitude and appreciation."

Fast forward seven years: Foley was finally able to confront her son's murderer in a courtroom in Virginia. She was approached by National Book Award-winner Colum McCann to share her life story in a book he would co-author, and she agreed. And, coincidentally, Puglisi and Foley reconnected over a chance encounter at the funeral of the woman who had introduced them a decade earlier. Foley mentioned the new project and Puglisi was excited to once again ask, "How can my class help?" And so, a new generation took up the torch.

Foley's challenge to the 2024 class: help create an author website, support book talks and signings, create a social media promotion plan, leverage US media via a satellite media tour, organize a webinar with the authors to discuss the book; and create online attention. There was also a campaign to improve the Google ranking of Foley's book which shared its title with an earlier, unrelated book and was having trouble edging up in search results.

While students jumped into action, planning and promoting book talks and signings, Puglisi reached out to a former student, and the generous SOC alumna was able to arrange for her company to take on the satellite tour, which would normally carry a roughly $35,000 price tag, at no cost. This gave the book and its authors much needed exposure and helped build the audience for the events the students were coordinating.

Throughout the semester, the students were engaged and challenged. Beyond developing their professional skills, many also felt personal motivation for the success of the book. "The most challenging part of working on this project was how much weight the work we did carried," said Katherine Bongiovanni. "I was pushed out of my comfort zone in the best way possible."

There were a lot of people involved in this project in addition to the class. The James W. Foley Foundation, Etruscan Press, Guarisco Group, the authors, Diane Foley, Colum McCann, and more. This required the students to use clear, professional communication throughout the project to keep all the players and moving parts aware of the overall timeline and progress toward the goals.

In addition to targeting a nationwide audience, the students also held a book signing with Foley on campus in McKinley Building, home to SOC (pictured above). And in addition to planning and promoting book talks, they hosted an online event with both McCann and Foley, where they shared details on the process of writing the book, the circumstances that led Foley to feel she was ready to tell her story, and the aspirations she has for the Foley Foundation. Giovanni was the moderator for the event and she said she found Foley's commitment and passion to be inspiring.

"[W]orking with Diane Foley helped me reflect on the kind of work I want to do in the future. I always knew how powerful communications can be in telling the stories that matter, but this work proved that I could do it and create work that I am proud of," Giovanni said.

"I couldn't be prouder of the students and their work. I can't tell you the sense of pride I felt during this entire semester, and the honor it was to work with Diane again," said Puglisi. "This campaign was truly one of the biggest campaigns this class has handled. They dealt with such a sensitive issue, a tragedy that will never be forgotten, and the voice of a son's mother who continues to help so many others who are held hostage."

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