Meridian Gray Culpepper is a director, story artist and animation studio founder from Carmel, Indiana. She started her career as a story intern at Pixar Animation Studios and went on to work in the story department at Skydance Animation on all seasons of WondLa (Apple TV) where she helped write and board the finale of season 1 that went on to be nominated for Best Animated Television/Media for Children’s Audience. Embracing the road of being a self taught animator, Meridian has mentored under numerous industry greats and most recently completed a Directing for Animation mentorship under Kristen Lester at Pixar. In 2024 Meridian founded Herringbone Animation Studios whose first project, Did You Remember The Cat, has gone on to win numerous awards and premiered on the horror channel Alter. Currently she is CEO and Creative Director at Herringbone wrapping up on her third directing project, Planet Jane, and heading into development on her first limited series.

Meridian also has a strong background in animation education, teaching animation workshops online and in person for over seven years including teaching animation to teenagers on the autism spectrum at Independence Academy, speaking at Lightbox Expo, Toronto Arts and Animation Festival, Kidscreen and more. Her YouTube videos and animation journey have also garnered national attention in publications like Cartoonbrew, The Bancroft Brothers Podcast and Business Insider.