Ekemini A. U. Riley is an associate director of the Philanthropy Advisory Service at the Center for Strategic Philanthropy. In addition to policy and communications, Dr. Riley has a passion for STEM workforce development, education and global health. Her primary focus is on medical research philanthropy, where she provides individual philanthropists and foundations with comprehensive and objective information related to the state of research for various diseases and key unmet needs impeding scientific progress. Prior to joining the Institute, Dr. Riley worked as a science policy and communications analyst at Ripple Effect Communications, Inc. where she worked across several different NIH divisions on high impact projects related to policy and external communications. She currently leads the Baltimore Chapter of the Association for Women in Science. Dr. Riley holds a bachelor’s degree in natural sciences from Johns Hopkins University and a doctorate in molecular medicine from the University of Maryland School of Medicine. She works at the Institute's Washington office.