For this Quarterly Article, we asked the Founding Executive Director to share reflections on the past decade of service:

On September 26, 2015, I boarded a flight from Heathrow to Washington, DC. I had visited the city many times, but on this occasion, I had more than my usual carry on. I was moving to the United States to set up Hostage US.

The need was clear. Americans didn’t have an equivalent to Hostage UK, the British non-profit I ran at the time. They reached out to us, and we did our best from the end of a phone line and across several time zones. I’d met Diane Foley this way, introduced by the families of British hostages held in Syria with her son, Jim. Diane reached out after his murder and raised significant funds to make Hostage US a reality.

I proudly served as the Executive Director of Hostage US for the first five years of its existence – and by the time I stood down we had greatly exceeded my expectations. Together with Liz Cathcart and our outstanding board of directors, we built a team of trained family support volunteers, a network of pro bono partners and strategic advisors, and an army of donors and ambassadors who champion this vital work. In the past five years, Liz and her team have supercharged these efforts. Every time a novel need presents itself, they get creative and find a way.

There is so much to be proud of where Hostage US is concerned, but for me it’s the fact that it holds firm to its most important organizational value: family first, family last.

As I prepare for another flight to Washington DC – this time to celebrate ten years of Hostage US – it strikes me that the story of Hostage US remains as it ever was: the power of connection and community to change lives. Join me in helping Hostage US enter its second decade by asking yourself: what can I do? What can I give? How can I be of service? And if you can, join us in DC or another event this year as we celebrate Hostage US and honor the hostages and families it has served.

Rachel Briggs OBE, CEO, The Clarity Factory
Founding Executive Director, Hostage US
First Director, Hostage UK