About Me

My name is Will Riley.

  • I deeply love my family and friends.
  • I try to understand the vast suffering in this world and how our moral minds perceive and influence it.
  • I wish everyone a life full of joy and wonder, and free from suffering.
  • I endeavor to be gentle with myself and others, and encourage others to do the same.

Quaker Ministry

I am an aspirant universalist Quaker friar who is in the process of discerning how he is called to teach and coach others. As part of this process, I am currently exploring ethical work and life coaching. My spiritual practice also involves writing poems.

Current Employment

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 do the same. In this position, I am trying to help society by generating scientific knowledge in an ethical manner and for prosocial purposes.

Academic and Professional Background

I have academic expertise in moral psychology, especially moral motivation.

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.

Most of my professional life has involved designing educational or research software in academia and industry. During my doctoral training, I also worked as a university instructor. In both for-profit and non-profit organizations, I have helped train and mentor junior software developers.

You can find more information about my academic and professional background on LinkedIn.