Riley grew up in small towns in Wisconsin and Washington state before moving to New York City for college, where she majored in physics and political science. After graduating, she worked as a researcher at the Citizens Budget Commission, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research and watchdog organization focused on New York City and State government. Her focus was on increasing transparency and evaluation of economic development incentives, including the Amazon HQ2 deal. Riley's policy interests include workforce development and increasing economic opportunity for poor and working Americans. She completed her internship this past summer with the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. When not working, she can be found hanging out with her two cats, trying out new recipes, or playing bar trivia.