Women To Watch 10.12.25 - Flipbook - Page 25
Missy Teague
57, head of marketing and corporate communications,
Merritt Companies
Missy Teague said every day at her job is different, which is just
one reason she loves it.
Teague heads the marketing and communications department
for Merritt Companies, a Baltimore-based real estate developer and
construction services firm.
From digital marketing strategies to crisis communications and
public relations tasks, Teague does it all.
“I love to be creative. I love to tell stories and I love to work with
people, and this kind of career allowed me to do all of those things
wrapped up in one,” said Teague, who has been with Merritt for 17
years.
Outside of her day job, Teague operates a holistic wellness center
that offers yoga, retreats, Reiki healing sessions and more. She
opened Wishing Star in 2021 on her family’s farm in Glen Arm.
Teague became a licensed Reiki practitioner in 2022, and said
it’s been rewarding to help clients relax, feel less pain or self-heal.
However, she is particularly proud of the community she has built
around the center.
“We all come there to gather and grow,” Teague said. “That’s what
this community has really been about, and everyone has that really
loving mindset.”
— Irit Skulnik
KARL MERTON FERRON/STAFF
Kalilah Wright
41, founder & CEO, MESS in a Bottle
KIM HAIRSTON/STAFF
With over a million dollars in sales, displays in major retailers
and wide brand recognition, Kalilah Wright is a queen of T-shirts.
The Brooklyn, New York, native moved to Baltimore 20 years
ago to earn a master’s degree in architecture from Morgan State
University. A former designer for a Baltimore sportswear company,
she was inspired to create her own fashion company selling T-shirts
with bold messages after the Freddie Gray uprising that took place
in her community.
“This gave people a message and a way to communicate their
frustrations of what was going on in the world,” Wright says.
That was a decade ago. MESS in a Bottle has been featured in
Target, collaborated with Walmart, YouTube and Google, and
appeared on national TV with business leader Mark Cuban.
“Queens Don’t Be Afraid to Rule Like a King,” reads one popular
message she created in her line of dozens of T-shirts.
“My message really is that, as a woman, don’t be afraid to rule
with an iron fist,” Wright says. “As a leader and as a person who is
at the top of the table, it is expected that you should lead and rule
like a king.”
Wright has made some recent changes to her T-shirt realm. She
put her e-commerce site on hiatus in August to restructure. Her
next reign is an expansion into consulting to help other entrepreneurs market their businesses. She also plans a TEE Class for those
who want to launch their own fashion brand.
— Michelle Deal-Zimmerman
WOMEN TO WATCH | 2025 | 25
