Meena Harris facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Meena Harris
|
|
---|---|
Harris in 2008
|
|
Born |
Meenakshi Ashley Harris
October 20, 1984 Oakland, California, U.S.
|
Education | Stanford University (BA) Harvard University (JD) |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) |
Nikolas Ajagu
(m. 2014) |
Children | 2 |
Parent(s) |
|
Relatives | Family of Kamala Harris |
Meenakshi Ashley Harris (born October 20, 1984) is an American lawyer, children's book author, producer, and founder of the Phenomenal Woman Action Campaign, which creates statement fashion to support charity. In June 2020, Harris released her first book from HarperCollins, entitled Kamala and Maya's Big Idea, which is based on the story of her mother, Maya Harris, and aunt, Kamala Harris, the 49th Vice President of the United States.
Contents
Early life and education
Harris was born on October 20, 1984. Her mother, Maya Harris, is a lawyer and policy expert. Her aunt, Kamala Harris, is the Vice President of the United States. Her grandmother, Shyamala Gopalan, was an Indian-American cancer researcher and civil rights activist, and her grandfather, Donald Harris, is a Jamaican-American professor of economics at Stanford and a civil rights activist.
Harris received her bachelor's degree from Stanford University in 2006, and her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 2012. She graduated from Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland.
Career
Phenomenal
She founded "Phenomenal" in 2017, naming her fashion company for a 1978 Maya Angelou poem. It then branched out to include the Phenomenal Woman Action Campaign, founded in 2017 as an organization that brings awareness to social causes. The campaign covers a range of policy issues, including educational excellence and healthcare equity, criminal justice reform, gender parity in STEM, reproductive health, and political representation. Ambassadors for the campaign include Serena Williams, Jessica Alba, Mark Ruffalo, Tracee Ellis Ross, Viola Davis, Yara Shahidi, Janelle Monae, Sarah Silverman, Debbie Allen, Rosario Dawson, Van Jones, Lizzo, Cecile Richards, and more. ..... Harris also operates Phenomenal Media for written content and Phenomenal Productions for videos and visual content. In December 2020, it was announced that she and Brad Jenkins would launch a production studio called Phenomenal Productions.
Children's books
In 2020, Harris released her first children's book from HarperCollins entitled Kamala and Maya's Big Idea, which is based on the real story of her mother, Maya Harris, and aunt Kamala Harris. On January 19, 2021, she released her second children's book, Ambitious Girl.
Political advising
During Kamala Harris's successful 2016 campaign for the U.S. Senate, Harris served as a senior advisor on policy and communications. From 2016 to 2017, Harris served as a commissioner on the San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women.
Other
Previously, Harris also served as Head of Strategy & Leadership at Uber where her stepfather Tony West is Chief Legal Officer, and worked for international law firm Covington & Burling, Slack Technologies, and Facebook.
Personal life
Harris married Nikolas Ajagu in 2014. The couple have two daughters.
See also
In Spanish: Meena Harris para niños