Photo by Eliesa Johnson; Hair and makeup by Sarah Drews
Meka White Morris for Evereve
Competitive sports are in Meka White Morris’s DNA. Her dad was an NBA legend; her brother played in the NFL. “I grew up in a home where you woke up in the morning and SportsCenter was on. You were expected to play something— an instrument, a sport.” Morris chose track and field, earning a scholarship to run the 400- and 800-meter (two grueling events she does not personally recommend!) at the University of Kansas. She spun her love of athletics into a career, first in broadcast, then in sales—with runs at the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Oakland Raiders, and the Charlotte Hornets—before being lured by the Twins in 2021. We hung out on an icy Valentine’s Day, unabashedly longing for spring.
What are you excited for this baseball season?
It’ll be an incredible team this year. We are at the forefront of the evolving game of baseball, and there are a ton of rule changes and cool additions that are going to speed up the game, like the pitch clock. I always look forward to Opening Day because that means it’s the start of spring and the best time of year to be in Minnesota. But, too, baseball is a time to connect with people you love. When you go to a ball game, there’s common interest, but it’s shared around an opportunity to connect. And that’s really important because there are so many things pulling us apart and fighting for our attention, we have to search for the ones that allow us to be together. At a game, everything else fades to the background.
Anything new that’s going to be...
Unveiled? Wouldn’t you like to know!
This issue won’t come out till late March.
If it’s before Opening Day, I can’t tell. You have to come to the ballpark to see.
I’ll take a wild guess that female executives in pro sports are pretty rare?
Professional sports is a microcosm of the world we live in. Women executives are rare across the board. I always say I’ll know we made progress the day where there are no longer firsts: first woman, first person of color, first LGBTQ+ person. I aspire not only to continue my journey in this industry but that every adversity I face ultimately means it’s less adversity for the next person. It’s always about ensuring that young women coming behind me have a path that is much easier than the one I had to walk.
Describe for me your leadership style.
I think leadership is about vulnerability. The best leaders I know want their people to succeed. I think a group made up of difference can solve and deliver something unseen before that changes the industry, changes the world. For me, it’s always looking for those people who are going to bring something new and creative to the table and allowing them the runway to be their true selves.
What do you want your personal style to say about who you are?
I’m so thankful that we’ve arrived at a place where being authentically you is respected. It doesn’t mean you lack executive presence or you’re not serious about what you do. It’s about who you are. For me to bring my authentic self to work every day allows me to feel confident and inspired. Style is about self-expression. Style is about your personal viewpoint on the world and on yourself, and I think we all deserve to be in a place that promotes and supports your personal style. I live it every day, and I encourage people around me to live it, too.
How was your Evereve experience?
I had never been to Evereve, and I was so pleasantly surprised. They have a great selection of super well-respected, approachable brands—things you can wear to work and feel as corporate and as powerful as you want to, but then go out with girlfriends or with a special someone and still feel sexy and beautiful.
What was it like to have someone style you?
People see you in a way you don’t often see yourself, and I think we all have to be open to getting somebody else’s viewpoint on what might look great on you despite what you typically wear or what you think looks good on yourself.
On White Morris: Cleobella “Rosalie” dress ($248), Kenneth Cole “Dolly” sandals ($139), and Jenny Bird “Icon Hoops” earrings ($88), all from EVEREVE, evereve.com
This article originally appeared in the April 2023 issue of Mpls.St.Paul Magazine as part of our series, The Foreword, presented by Evereve.
