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Edith Dolan Riley, a long-time activist in Democratic politics and civil organizations, was born Edith Rose Dolan in 1885. She was educated at St. Clara Academy and Rosary College in River Forest, Illinois. As a teacher in the public schools in Chicago, she first became involved in politics by lobbying for a teacher's pension bill in the state legislature. In 1913 she married Edward J. Riley, an electrical engineer. The couple lived in Brooklyn for a time before moving to Spokane, Washington. The Rileys soon rose to social prominence in Spokane and Edith became involved in Democratic politics. In 1924 she was elected Chairman of the Spokane County Democratic Committee, the first woman in the state to hold such an office. She also was active in the Spokane Women's Democratic Club, in which she served as president (1934), and helped organize the Spokane League of Women Voters in 1934. In the 1930s she was involved in the Washington State Federation of Women's Clubs as chair of its Motion Picture Committee. Her concern for motion pictures grew out of her interest in education and juvenile delinquency.

The Rileys left Spokane in 1937 and lived in Butte, Montana until the early 1940s when they moved to California. While in the Bay area, Edith Riley continued her involvement with the League of Women Voters and motion pictures. She was active in the Federation of Motion Picture Councils, the East Bay Motion Picture Council, San Francisco Motion Picture and Television Council and the Motion Picture Committee of the San Francisco Council of Catholic Women. The aims of these organizations were the promotion of "wholesome" motion pictures and the safety of theaters for children.