Foster Friess — Man Atop the Horse

Born in Rice Lake, Wisconsin in 1940, he is a first-generation college graduate. His mother dropped out of school in the eighth grade to pick cotton in order to save the family farm in Texas. His father dealt cattle and horses.

At Rice Lake High School, Foster says, “I was valedictorian, class president, student council president, and captain of the basketball, track, golf and baseball teams—all the things that are possible when only 16 kids are in your class!” he says with a wry smile before admitting that there were, in fact, 160.

At the University of Wisconsin, Foster earned a degree in Business Administration, served as president of his fraternity, was named one of the “ten most outstanding senior men,” and won the heart of “Badger Beauty” and Chi Omega president Lynnette Estes, whom he married in 1962. Two sons, two daughters, and eleven grandchildren followed. READ MORE…

The Team

Ed Bartolini

Ed serves as a Consultant to the Foster and Lynn Friess Family Foundation. As such he participates in the Foundation’s major ongoing philanthropic pursuits. These include a substantial clean, safe water initiative in Malawi Africa, Mobile Medical Ministries which brings Christian medical care to the underserved, and the Haiti Renewal Fund which has selected and supported numerous projects in Haiti designed to bring recovery and renewal to that land. Ed and Susan, his wife of 47 years, live in Phoenix, Arizona. They have 6 children and 11 grandchildren.

Joseph Lindsley, Jr.

Joe writes for FosterFriess.com and the Campfire Blog. He graduated in 2005 from the University of Notre Dame, where he  studied the “Great Books” and Philosophy, Politics, & Economics. Starting off as a sports writer for Notre Dame’s daily paper, he later founded the school’s Irish Rover newspaper. He has previously worked at the Weekly Standard magazine in Washington, D.C.; as editor-in-chief of two weekly newspapers in the Northeast; and as executive director of the Collegiate Network, which promotes independent journalism on college campuses throughout the United States. A native of Toledo, Ohio, he grew up in Charlotte, N.C.

Matthew Taylor

Matthew Taylor serves as policy advisor to Foster Friess and the Friess Family Foundation.

Thomas J. Haley

T.J. is from Long Island, New York but currently lives across the Hudson River from New York City, over in Hoboken, New Jersey. T.J. graduated from the University of Delaware in 2008 with a degree in Communication and is now providing content for Foster’s new Campfire Blog.  A true New Yorker, T.J. spends most of his free time complaining about the Mets, playing basketball, eating pizza, and debating out-of-staters over the proper pronunciation of “ball” and “coffee.”

Steve Friess

Steve works closely with his father (Foster) and their family foundation as he oversees most philanthropic endeavors. Steve volunteers as the president of the Jackson Hole Institute, which organizes events to raise awareness of the K-12 public education crisis and to highlight the power of choice as an instrument for improvement. Steve also supports efforts to improve the environment for charter schools in Wyoming. Steve serves on the board of the Alliance for School Choice, and with his wife Polly serves on the board of The Gathering. They live in Jackson Hole, Wyoming with their three children, Cotter, Ginger and Thatcher.

Judy Jost

Judy Jost, as web director of FosterFriess.com and assistant to Foster Friess, energetically engages in a wide variety of work. Judy supports the work of Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), a nonprofit biomedical research institute, in their fight against cancer, in honor of her late daughter, Taryn. A native of Texas, Judy now lives with her husband, Gary, in Cave Creek, Arizona. She roots for the Diamondbacks and enjoys playing golf, bicycling and sitting by the pool.