About Me

My name is Will Riley.

I am a moral psychology researcher focusing on moral motivation and moral identity development – how people think, feel, and act in response to moral challenges in their lives and work.

I currently work as a Researcher & Research Software Engineer at Wageningen University & Research, where my contributions have centered on designing research software and training researchers in how to design and develop their own.

In the future, I aim to explore how moral psychology can be applied to ethical leadership coaching and the repair of organizational cultures harmed by unethical behavior.

I hope to help leaders become more attentive, compassionate, and courageous. I see ethical leadership not only as a professional practice, but as a deeply human one – grounded in presence, care, and a commitment to the well-being of all.

Check me out on LinkedIn.

Academic Background

I graduated with a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology (Applied Cognition and Development) from the University of Georgia. My dissertation research examined how people make moral judgments about consumer behaviors, like eating meat and using plastic straws, which indirectly harm animals, and whether beliefs about the minds of animals influences those judgments. Specifically, I tested whether attributing mental capacities to animals increases our moral concern for harming them. My advisor was Dr. Leonard Martin.

I also have a M.S. in Digital Media from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and a B.A. in Philosophy from Reed College. In addition, I’ve completed undergraduate and graduate coursework in psychology, informatics, statistics, public health, and literature from the University of Michigan, George Mason University, Portland State University, University of North Dakota, and Georgia State University.