[4] Riley wed Aboriginal leader and politician Warren Mundine in 1984 at St Andrew's Congregational Church in Balmain, Sydney, and raised seven children with him (two from his previous marriage and one a foster child).
In addition to teaching and research, Riley has also been actively involved in state government policy, for example as Acting Director of Aboriginal Education and Training NSW DET in 2002-2005.
[11] In the 2023 King's Birthday Honours Riley was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for "distinguished service to education, particularly through the development of Indigenous curriculum and student support, to reconciliation, and to the community".
[13][14] In July 2014, the University of Sydney launched the online learning tool 'Kinship Module'[15] which aims to increase understanding of indigenous culture.
[16] The content of this online module was largely based on research conducted by Riley and her colleagues Janet Mooney and Deirdre Howard-Wagner.