Ashley Maria

Ashley Maria is a filmmaker based in Los Angeles, CA. Winner of the coveted Directors Guild of America (DGA) award for the comedy/horror short film "Friday Night Fright," she was also featured by the DGA Women's Steering Committee as a director who represents The Future of Women in Film. This honor led to a coveted mentorship with director Wes Craven. Ashley is also known for developing the first ever 360 immersive Kickstarter update video for her 2015 Pioneers in Skirts Fundraising campaign. Her first feature film, Pioneers in Skirts, a documentary, was released in 2020. The film follows her own journey to understand the bias and sexism women confront in their careers and what we ALL can do as a culture to evolve past it. Recently, Ashley was awarded "Best New Director" at the Downtown LA Film Festival for the documentary. Outside of filmmaking, Ashley was selected twice as a North American delegate to attend the United Nation's Commission on the Status of Women - the principal global policy-making body dedicated exclusively to gender equality and the advancement of women.