Emma Riley is the Director of Strategic Partnerships of award-winning Lonely Whale, an incubator for courageous ideas that drive impactful market-based change on behalf of our ocean. As Director, Emma brings her unique talent for building cross-curricula and cross-culture initiatives and partnerships. She spearheads radically collaborative efforts, including the Strawless Ocean initiative aimed at drastically reducing the usage of single-use plastic straws, and Strawless in Seattle, which resulted in the permanent removal of more than 2.5M plastic straws in the city of Seattle, WA. Emma continues to expand and drive the Strawless Ocean initiative for Lonely Whale by partnering with institutions and major brands such as Live Nation, AEG, MLB, The Edition, Soho House Bacardi Limited and more.

Emma has spoken to strategic marketing used for good at conferences and festivals such as Northside and the Ministry of Ideas, and New York City Design Festival and has been featured in pop culture and lifestyle publications and podcasts such as Brooklyn Magazine, Women's Health Magazine, Pure Wow, MindbodyGreen, Rubicon Green and more.

Emma is holds a degree in Philosophy and currently splits her time between cities, most often finding herself in downtown Oakland.