[2] While at UCLA, she wrote, directed, and produced the student film A Dry Heat,[3] for which she won a CINE Golden Eagle Award.
[9] She also directed the short film Take Your Seat (aka Jewish Water) which also won a Cine Golden Eagle, and an episode of the TV sitcom Solo En America for Columbia TriStar.
On this committee, she and co-chair, Melanie Wagor, were able to move proposals for women DGA members into the 2014 DGA-studio collective bargaining negotiations.
She began researching and writing about viable legal strategies to remediate illegal discrimination against women in Hollywood, citing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
[24] Shortly after the ACLU launched its investigation of Hollywood's job discrimination, the New York Times published its 2017 article "that triggered the Metoo movement", exposing Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment and assault.
"'It was explosive,' says Giese, 'and suddenly our industry was throwing millions of dollars into the creation of new inside-industry enforcement organizations like Time's Up, The Hollywood Commission, ReFrame, and many others.
"[28] And in 2016, Philadelphia Inquirer writer, Carrie Rickey, wrote, "So allow me to introduce real-life female crusader Maria Giese, whose fact-finding led to the ACLU findings that prompted the current EEOC investigation.
"[29] According to The Los Angeles Times in October 2016, the EEOC "is now widening its circle of interview subjects to include studio executives, producers, agents, actors and male directors, according to multiple sources familiar with the investigation who declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly.