(written from a Production point of view)
Deborah Kampmeier (born 21 November 1964; age 59) is a director who directed the Star Trek: Discovery fourth season episode "The Galactic Barrier" and the Star Trek: Picard third season episodes "Dominion" and "Surrender".
Kampmeier's daughter, Sophia Adler appeared in an uncredited role in both of the aforementioned Picard episodes.
Kampmeier was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and began her career as an actress after training at the National Shakespeare Conservatory in New York City from 1983 to 1985. She taught acting for twenty years at various New York-based acting schools, including the Stella Adler Studios, where she met her husband, actor / acting teacher Tom Oppenheim (grandson of famous acting teacher and studio founder Stella Adler).
Kampmeier debuted as film director and screenwriter in 2003 with the independent drama film Virgin, made on a budget of $65,000. This was followed by the controversial independent drama film Hounddog (2007), the fantasy drama Split (2016, with Sophia Adler), and the thriller Tape (2020, with Sophia Adler).
Parallel to her theatre and independent film work, Kampmeier also ventured into television, where she directed episodes of series such as Queen Sugar (with Tina Lifford), Clarice (with Emily Coutts and Jim Chad, developed by Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet), Tales of the Walking Dead, FBI: International, The Gilded Age (with Sophia Adler), and Harlan Coben's Shelter (with Missi Pyle and Sophia Adler).