Staff Member
Riley James Yaxley (they/them) is a writer, poet, and fundraiser based in Chicago, Illinois, occupying unceded land of the Kickapoo, Peoria, Potawatomi, Miami, and Očhéthi Šakówiŋ peoples. They hold a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse from DePaul University, specializing in professional writing and queer and feminist rhetorical histories. Riley started their career working at a number of arts organizations in Chicago, including Chicago Gallery News, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Wrightwood 659, and Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art. They currently serve as the chair of advancement for Intuit’s Young Professionals affiliate group, planning the museum’s annual spring fundraiser and serving ex-officio on the museum’s development committee. Most recently, they were the Donor Stewardship Writer at the Art Institute of Chicago, where they collaborated across departments to produce stewardship reports and acknowledgement letters and served as a cochair for one of the museum’s equity working groups. Riley is a regular contributor to Chicago Gallery News and ADF Web Magazine, aiming to uplift BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ artists and to challenge systems of inequity within the arts world through their writing.