Meena Harris Was the Reason Her Mother Maya and Step-Father Tony West Got Together

Publish date: 2024-05-21

Born to a 17-year-old Maya Harris, Meena Harris grew up without a father in a family full of women. Her mother, who is now married to Tony West, got closer to him after Meena brought them together.

West and Maya shared their story of how they met with Stanford Lawyer. On his first day of class at Stanford Law, West played hide-and-seek with a four-year-old  Meena. Later, West was introduced to Meena's mother, who he eventually got married to after a decade of their first meeting.

Meena Harris' Family Is Full Of Lawyers

Meena’s mother Maya, is a lawyer and acted as the Senior Policy Advisor on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. Following her sister's political footsteps, Kamala Harris became the 49th Vice-President of the United States.

Just like her mother and aunt, Meena is also a lawyer. She credits her achievements to her grandmother (a scientist and breast cancer researcher), mother, and aunt — she considers these ladies her role models. 

Meena’s father West is an attorney who has previously served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Department of Justice, Civil Division. He currently works as the Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, and Corporate Secretary at Uber.

Meena Is A Children's Book Author

Meena is also a children’s book author with two books under her name. Her first book, Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea, was published in June 2020.

The book is based on her mother and aunt’s childhood and expanded on matters regarding activism and community-building. The book also contains lessons about cooperation and change an individual can bring.

Meena’s second book, Ambitious Girl, was published in 2021. The book, according to her, was designed to inspire young children and explore the challenges faced by women and girls.

As per the synopsis, "it teaches them ways in which they can reframe, redefine, and reclaim words meant to knock them down." Ambitious Girl became New York Times #1 Best-Selling Book after its launch.

Founder & CEO of 'Phenomenal'

Meena printed and sold “Phenomenal Women” tees on International Women’s day in 2016, hoping to donate the profits from its sales to organizations like Planned Parenthood and Girls Who Code. What initially started as a small project soon grew into the Phenomenal Woman Action Campaign.

The campaign now raises awareness about issues affecting under-represented communities and sells various clothing articles under its banner.

In March 2018, Harris took to Instagram to celebrate the campaign’s success. She had initially hoped for a sale of five hundred tees over the course of a month.

Mother To Two Daughters

Meena is married to Nikolas Ajagu, and together, they have two daughters: Amara and Leela.

Ajagu used to work as the Global Head of Partnerships at Facebook but, quit his job to be a stay-at-home father.

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