Griffiths was born in Ohio, lived in Moscow, Idaho in her teens, attended Moscow High School, and was an undergraduate at the University of Idaho where she earned a B.A. in visual communications in 1997.

Griffiths received an MFA in Film Production from Ohio University School of Film in 2000.

She wrote and directed her first feature film, First Aid For Choking, in 2003. Griffiths subsequently worked as a producer and first assistant director on features in and around Seattle including Zoo, The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle, The Catechism Cataclysm, and Your Sister’s Sister. Her second feature The Off Hours world premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and went on to receive a nomination at the 2011 Independent Spirit Awards for Ben Kasulke’s cinematography.

Griffiths made Eden in 2012. The film starred Jamie Chung, Matt O’Leary and Beau Bridges, and it told a story about a human trafficking survivor. The Stranger newspaper wrote, “Griffiths navigates the horrifying facts of her film with great respect,” and her direction was described as “a veritable master class in how to make humane art out of inhumanity.”

In 2016, Griffiths wrote and directed The Night Stalker, in which Lou Diamond Phillips played American serial killer Richard Ramirez. The film co-starred Bellamy Young and was acquired by Lifetime Television. It aired on June 12, 2016.