About Me

My name is Will Riley. I wear multiple hats as a moral psychology researcher, ethical leadership coach & trainer, and research software engineer.

In general, I am interested in empirical approaches to studying ethics, especially moral motivation and adult moral development. I am also interested in designing and evaluating educational interventions (e.g., coaching, training, rewards and recognition programs, software) to influence moral beliefs, feelings, and actions of leaders in nonprofits, cooperatives, government agencies, and social enterprises.

I currently work as a Researcher & Research Software Engineer at Wageningen Food & Biobased Research at Wageningen University & Research (WUR).

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.