Emily Ridley spent her childhood near Seattle and her youth near Hartford, Connecticut. She comes from a wonderful family, the oldest of six children. She graduated from Brigham Young University with a BS in biology. She has three children, all of whom are now young adults. For many years, she spent her time homeschooling her children and was very involved in the homeschool community in and around Idaho Falls. She was on the board of a homeschool organization where she also taught classes and even operated a small private school out of her home for more than two years.

Ms. Ridley has many interests, including baseball, photography, all kinds of music and playing the piano, reading, all things neuroscience, basketball, trips to see the ocean, and spending time with family. She loves teaching and learning more than just about anything else, and enjoys teaching high school science at APA.