About
Stories help people feel seen. Relationships help that understanding become lasting change. The RILEY Project brings people and organizations together across disability, education, family support, research, work, and community life.
our mission
We Build Belonging & Community
Building communities where disabled and neurodivergent people belong, participate, and lead.
HOW WE BUILD TOGETHER
Together, we can encourage agency, belonging, and opportunity across the lifespan.
- Community Events
- Leadership Training
- Partnerships
- Storytelling Workshops
Our Story
Founded in 2022, The RILEY Project began with a simple belief: neurodivergent people deserve to feel seen—not fixed. What started as a small community with Bay Area roots has grown into a national movement for belonging, where people share their stories, build meaningful connections, and discover they were never alone.
Too often, neurodivergent people and their families are left searching for community, understanding, and a sense of where they belong. A diagnosis may answer one question, but it rarely provides connection. That’s the space we exist to fill—not with clinical services, but with storytelling, convening, partnerships, and leadership opportunities that help people see themselves in one another and imagine what’s possible. We believe belonging isn’t the outcome of our work—it’s the foundation that makes everything else possible.
Founder’s Story
Riley Mulcahy
Executive Director
I’m Riley Mulcahy, Executive Director of The RILEY Project. My path to this work began early: I was diagnosed with dyslexia at age seven. Like many students with learning differences, I encountered moments of frustration and self-doubt—but I was also fortunate to experience schools and mentors who saw my strengths, not just my challenges. Those inclusive environments didn’t just help me succeed academically; they helped me understand who I was and what I could become.
That experience shaped everything that followed.
The RILEY Project exists to foster agency, empowerment, and belonging for students and families navigating learning differences. We believe that when people are given the tools, language, and spaces to tell their own stories, real change becomes possible. Confidence grows. Strengths emerge. Futures open.
Make An Impact
HELP BUILD
WHAT COMES
NEXT
Belonging takes people, relationships, and places to come together.
Your gift supports The RILEY Project, including planning the 2027 Belonging Summit, building the year-round Belonging Collaborative, and sharing lived experience through storytelling.
♡ The RILEY Project is a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
What We Are Building
The Belonging Summit is planned for Summer 2027 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Belonging Collaborative is the year-round work around it: helping people and organizations learn from one another and build together.
Gather is a future vision for a welcoming community space, not an open venue or a funded launch.