Initially, Meena decided to follow in her mom and aunt's footsteps by pursing a career in law. After getting her undergraduate degree at Stanford, Meena went on to Harvard Law School, where she graduated in 2012. After working for the international law firm Covington & Burling — as well as Slack Technologies, Uber, and Facebook — Meena realised that a traditional legal career might not be for her. Instead, Meena decided to launch the Phenomenal Woman Action Campaign, which is a women-powered civic engagement platform.
As Meena explained to NBC News in October 2020, her aunt always inspired her to pursue her passions. "When Aunt Kamala and mom were young and would come home from school complaining about something they felt was unfair, my grandma would reply, 'Well, what are you going to do about it? Don't sit around and complain about things, do something,'" Meena said. "Aunt Kamala always emphasised this lesson to me by urging me to make my own unique contributions to issues I care about. Sure, she's always encouraged me to run for office, but she never pressured me, and she also let me know that I could make an impact in other ways."