Ekemini A. U. Riley, PhD
Managing Director
Dr. Ekemini A. U. Riley is the Founder and CEO of the Coalition for Aligning Science (CAS), a scientific strategy and program implementation firm she established to accelerate biomedical discovery and translate research insights into therapeutic impact. She currently serves as the Managing Director of Aligning Research to Impact Autism (ARIA).
Trained as a molecular biologist, Dr. Riley’s career sits at the intersection of science, strategy, and philanthropy. Her work spans designing multi-sector research initiatives, shaping philanthropic investment strategies, and convening researchers, funders, and institutional leaders to drive coordinated action across neurodevelopment, neurodegeneration, and neuropsychiatry.
Previously, she served as the founding Managing Director of Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP), CAS’s flagship initiative and one of the most ambitious coordinated research programs in Parkinson’s disease. She also served on the National Advisory Neurological Disorders and Stroke Council (2020–2024) and earlier held a Director role at the Milken Institute Center for Strategic Philanthropy, where she co-led its medical research practice.
She holds a BA in Natural Sciences from Johns Hopkins University and a PhD in Molecular Medicine from the University of Maryland Baltimore.