Gina Riley, Ph.D. is an educational psychologist, Program Director of the All-Grades Special Education M.S.Ed. program, Associate Professor of Special Education, and Faculty Director of ACERT, Hunter College’s Academic Center for Excellence in Research and Teaching. She has conducted significant research on homeschooling and unschooling, an educational method and philosophy that emphasizes intrinsic motivation as a primary means for learning. In addition to her research on self-directed learning environments, Dr. Riley has specific expertise in adolescent special education and Supported Decision Making, promoting autonomy and self-determination for individuals with disabilities. In 2023, Dr. Riley was awarded a four-year grant from the New York State Council on Developmental Disabilities to develop an inclusive decision-making curriculum for students in grades K-12. That curriculum, translated into multiple languages, is now used statewide and can be found at https://nysdecisionmakingcurriculum.org/. Dr. Riley has extensive experience in online, hybrid, and HyFlex education, having been actively involved in the field since 1998. Her contributions to educational psychology, online learning, and alternative education models have been influential in shaping contemporary discussions on intrinsic motivation, self-determination, and personalized, flexible learning approaches. She is the author of dozens of academic articles and three books, including Unschooling: Exploring Learning Beyond the Classroom (Palgrave MacMillan, 2020), The Homeschooling Starter Guide (Simon & Schuster, 2021), and The Joys of Self-Determined Learning: A Collection of Essays (Ricci Publishing, 2022). Dr. Riley is the current President of the New York State Association of Teacher Educators.