After graduating from high school in 1985, she completed a degree in Modern and Eastern European History, as well as in political science, at the Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf, which she finished in 1997 with an M. A.

From 1987 to 1997, Griese worked first as a freelancer, and then until 2000 as a research associate, at the Memorial for the Victims of National Socialism in Düsseldorf.

In the negotiations to form a coalition government under the leadership of Chancellor Angela Merkel following the 2017 federal elections, Griese was part of the working group on social affairs, led by Karl-Josef Laumann, Barbara Stamm and Andrea Nahles.

On 14 March 2018 Hubertus Heil appointed Griese as Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Labor and Social Affairs.

[8] From 2009 to 2010, she worked as a full-time federal executive member of the Diakonisches Werk of the EKD, responsible for social policy.

"[14] In the question of child protection, Griese had spoken in favor of compulsory pediatric examinations for all children, with the goal of detecting health problems early.

"[15] In the revision of the Pregnancy Conflict Law on the issue of medical indications for abortion and late termination, Griese presented a lead bill of her own, which contradicted the majority opinion of the SPD parliamentary group.

Together with Katrin Göring-Eckardt (Greens) and Andrea Nahles (SPD), she pleaded for a binding reflection period, as well as a commitment of the doctor to mediate in a consultation and to establish contacts with disability organizations.

She criticized that the Pope "conveys an unworldliness that contradicts my Christian understanding of an inviting faith,"[23] and the fact that she sees "a lot of exclusion in the Catholic Church.

She appealed to the churches to accept workers' right to strike and to exclude diaconal companies that "are the 'black sheep' because they use outsourcing and temporary contracts to cut their costs.

"[25] She called for a universally binding labor contract for the social sector, so that "especially private providers cannot continue to depress wages.

[29] Griese complained that there is still no proper Islamic religious education in schools for the majority of Muslim students, stating that, "For a successful integration, there must first be offers.