Editors note: Hanelle Culpepper received an NAACP Image Award nomination earlier this month for her work directing the pilot for CBS All Access’ Star Trek: Picard, which made her the first Black director and first female director to launch a movie or series in the Star Trek universe. The veteran TV helmer, who directed three episodes of Picard‘s Season 1, has penned a guest column for Deadline about her personal and professional perspective on the industry and the challenges achieving equality.