Zaneta Adams is an appointed Judicial Official and Court Referee in Michigan, a U.S. Army veteran, and a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She is a trailblazer in both public service and the arts, known for breaking barriers as the first woman veteran appointed to a cabinet-level position in Michigan when she served as Director of the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency under Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
Zaneta previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, where she advised senior leadership and fostered partnerships across federal, state, tribal, and international communities. A licensed attorney and former adjunct professor of veterans’ law, she continues to advocate for underserved communities through her legal and civic roles.
An accomplished performing artist, Zaneta co-starred in the international feature film Old Heart, which won Best Film from an Adapted Screenplay at the 2025 Marina del Rey Film Festival among other festival awards nationally and internationally. She has also starred in several stage productions, including A Raisin in the Sun and Sister Act: The Musical.
Her leadership extends to founding WINC For All Women Veterans, producing an Emmy Award-winning documentary with the VA, and serving on multiple national and local boards. Zaneta holds a B.A. in Psychology from Columbia College and a J.D. from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School.
Zaneta is a medically disabled and retired US Army veteran with a long history of advocacy. She has received many awards including a Regional Emmy, West Michigan Woman of the Year, Forum Impact Woman in Leadership Award in DC, Michigan Legion of Merit, Global War on Terrorism medal, and was recently inducted into the Michigan Military and Veterans Hall of Honor, to name a few. She and her husband, Army veteran Joseph Adams, have been married for 25 years and are proud parents to six children—including two sets of twins.
Full Transcript:
Jennifer Moss: Hi there, I'm Jennifer Moss and welcome to a special edition of Powerful Women Let's Talk. This November we are honoring and celebrating our female veterans in Michigan and today I have the honor to welcome Zaneta Adams, a U.S. Army veteran and an appointed judicial official and court referee in Michigan and a whole lot more. So welcome, Zaneta.
Zaneta Adams: Thank you. Thanks for having me.
JM: So we've got a lot of bases to cover as you are a very, very busy woman. And all that you do has powerful women written all over it. And I have to say that we are very excited in this cycle of powerful women. Let's talk to pay tribute to our female veterans in our great state. So let me start with a little backdrop. Your LinkedIn profile describes you as a disabled veteran, experienced attorney, and veterans advocate. And as mentioned, you're currently an appointed judicial official and court referee. You're also known for breaking barriers as the first woman veteran appointed to a cabinet-level position in Michigan when serving as director of the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency under Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and you previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. And let me just say folks, this is the short list, but also I want to mention you were recently inducted into the Michigan Military and Veterans Hall of Honor. That is a big congratulations. So we are so proud and you're very accomplished. Give us that back story about your military career and what has made you so passionate about staying involved.
ZA: Thank you, uh you know it started you know, went to the military in 1998 and then um served I signed up for the US uh Army National Guard and then when I got married life happened I got married my husband was in the military as well and then uh came back and started serving in the reserves came back to Illinois from South Carolina and and Arizona and everywhere in between and when we came back, I actually got called up on orders for Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005. At the time, I had three children, two sets of twins. Or one set of twins at the time, I have two sets of twins now. And so I was leaving three children under age five with my husband, and probably not too long after I was called up, we were preparing to go to Iraq, doing a rapid dismount. We were training to go over to Iraq and I fell off of a truck which was about a 10 to 11 foot fall and severely injured my back. And so that was a journey. That was a very uh depressing, emotional, painful journey. I was in my 20s still. I didn't know what life was going to look like. uh I had already had a back surgery in the military and when I came out in 2007, I had another one. And at that time my nerve was severed. uh I was in a wheelchair for little, some time. I'm not sure if I'd walk again. And so was really depressed. But I had to fight the VA to get my benefits. And that was a struggle. And having to go through that as someone dealing with a disability, trying to figure out what your next is, and then you have to fight a big system, that's tough. And so after I was able to get through that, and I worked with some amazing women veterans and organizations to kind of help pull me through the... suicidal ideations I was having and the depression I was struggling with. I decided to go back and finish school. So I hadn't finished my undergrad at the time. So I went back and finished my undergrad in psychology and I wanted to do more. And so I went to law school and uh said I wanted to help veterans get connected to their compensation and benefit. So that's really kind of what drove me to do the things I am doing today. And I'll say this, one of the things I was thinking about last night was that a lot of times when we're in a circumstance or we've had a traumatic uh event happen in our lives, we cannot see uh the future. We can't see that we could come out on a better side of those things. And I think I was stuck there for a while in the mindset.
JM: And you were so young too at that time.
ZA: I was young and I was still newly married. I had only been married for like five years when I went away. And so that was tough on a marriage. uh There was just a lot that was going on and you don't see that this could be the catalyst, know, how the Bible tells us that God can turn these things around for good. It just sounds like lip service when you're going through it. But to look back and say that if not for this injury, if not for the resilience that I gained because of that injury, I would not have served the governor. I would not have served the president of the United States and I would not have, I would not be here where I'm at today.
JM: But as so many people do, as you're going through it though, as you mentioned, it's difficult to see that pathway and then those doors open up and if you're spiritual then you know it's kind of led and it's like this is why and then it serves that purpose in your heart. So you remain so involved. uh You have your Juris Doctorate, right? And so that part led to the legal battles that you were able to assist other veterans with and you remain an advocate working with various groups. So tell me about that, the importance of you now having gone through what you've been through. And again, I counter that with such a young age, I because that impacts you as you grow. How important is it for you now, for Zaneta to say, you know what, I want to still keep active in helping other veterans today?
ZA: You know, I look at it as though I don't really have a choice. And I don't have a choice because, you know, in my speech that I gave recently for the Michigan Military and Veterans Hall of Honor, I talk about the fact that I was in a section in the military, there were 700 men to like five or 10 women that were gonna deploy to Iraq. In my section of 10, where there were 10 of us, the nine that went over, they all died in a roadside bomb. They're not here to continue to serve. And so part of that, part of my service is honoring them through continuing to serve. The other piece is that I've never backed down from a fight. And so when I saw veterans not being taken care of and even women veterans, that's why I started a women veterans nonprofit in 2014, Wink for All Women Veterans, because I saw that people didn't recognize that women veterans served. And when you don't recognize a population, there's no services available.
JM: Absolutely.
ZA: And so I fought to get a women veterans day here in the state of Michigan in 2018. And now we have a women veterans day here in the state of Michigan. I started that nonprofit and I do all these things because if other people don't have a voice, but they have a mission and they have a purpose in life, then why not if I'm able to do it? And I feel like, again, my service is I'm serving for those who can't. And so that's why I continue to serve. I don't feel like I have an option.
JM: Absolutely, I see that. And so you're the founder, as you mentioned, I was going to ask you about the veterans group WINC for all women veterans. Does WINC stand for something?
ZA: It stands for Women Injured in Combat. And I look at women injured in combat, not as just women who were physically injured in combat, but unfortunately for over 70% of women in the military, it's combat every day from basic combat training. You're fighting some kind of uh stereotype, you're fighting something. And so I wanted this to be a place where all women veterans could come together. They could talk, they could have a shoulder to lean on. They could do meetups, they could heal. And over the years that I was involved heavily in WINC, I saw that. I saw that the vision that God gave me for this organization was saving and changing lives so.
JM: Wonderful. So as you look at this, Zaneta, what more needs to be done for our veterans? You know, we do so many stories about a variety of groups here on our NPR station and uh we do stories about those that are helping to that are working to help veterans, those with past trauma, everything from that to paying medical bills or just paying their heating bills in some cases, household bills. So a two-fold question for you. Why do you think that this is continuing on? You've noted some of the groups you started and there are other groups out there. So why do you think this is and what remains the biggest hardship or struggle statewide or even nationwide for some of our veterans today?
ZA: I think that there's a struggle because there are so many labels and different definitions of what a veteran is. Even veterans don't realize that they're veterans. uh We get that not just in women. A lot of times it's women that don't uh recognize that they're a veteran because they're not old or they're not white or they're not, you know, they didn't serve in combat. these labels that you put on a veteran. So they don't realize it. So then when you don't realize again, it goes back to what I was talking about with the women veterans. Well, you don't realize who you are. then you don't go to take advantage or take access or access your benefits. And so that's one piece of it. One of the things that I was on a mission when I was in the state and federal government was education. Education to not just veterans, but to those who serve veterans. And I'm not talking about veteran organizations, I'm talking about non-veteran organizations. Every organization in this country serves a veteran. They don't necessarily know that they're serving a veteran. But if we can educate them and put resources and tools in their hands that they could share, they don't have to be experts, we could actually get more veterans the help they need. We can get more veterans to remember the pride that they had in serving, which will carry on to their generations because they don't have a lot of people signing up for the military anymore either. And so all of those things, it's not just a thank you for your service with your lip service, it's thank you for your service, but hey, here's some information that I can share with you that if you wanna get access to your benefits or you wanna get your DG 214 or you wanna learn about your education benefits, I'm not an expert, but these people are. And so I think that's what more can be done is that if everybody takes on the mantle of we all should be educators to help veterans because they don't know. I know there's over 500,000 veterans here in the state of Michigan. There's over 40,000 women veterans in the state of Michigan and there's only like 18 % of those people taking advantage of their disability benefits.
JM:18 %?
ZA:18%.
JM: Out of that high of a number? Yes.
ZA: And again, lack of knowledge? I believe a lot of it's lack of education. There's some who, who may not, don't know that they qualify for things now because they didn't in the past. So they won't go back to the VA. So it really is ongoing.
Ongoing education and knowledge, but it's just people willing to do a little bit extra. We've had hospitals who've done that that identify veterans and they don't ask that question, right? And that's what I'll say to everybody, right? Don't ask if somebody's a veteran, because nine times out of 10, even there's males that I've served 25 years in the National Guard, I'm not a veteran. But you are by the state's definition and there's potential benefits that you get access. So instead of asking that, ask, have you served? That's the better question, because most people will say they served.
They just won't necessarily say they're a veteran. So it just starts with just changing little things, educating the public on different ways to ask questions, and then where to seek the knowledge. 1-800-MICH-VET, right? That's here in Michigan, M-I-C-H-V-E-T, that's the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency. They're knowledgeable about most of the programs, benefits, services, federally and statewide, so they can help you get connected. You can call them to get a benefits checkup, just to figure out, like, am I eligible for anything? Even spouses of deceased veterans, there's potentially benefits out there that they're missing out on. It's just, again, it's education.
JM: Education, and that's a lot of what you do. And your law degree helps you in that battle, right, to advocate.
ZA: Yeah.
JM: Have you found that, I mean, that's what motivated you, would imagine, to get your law degree. You said you didn't want to stop, and you wanted to keep moving forward to be able to assist and to help yourself and then help others along the way, correct?
ZA: Yes, yeah. My law degree has helped me. It helps me to just be able to navigate some of the nuances. And it helps me to be able to see too. know when they rolled out some new changes to how like the VA, the Department of VA, the federal, when they rolled out some new changes to how to file benefits, it was like 12 pages of information. And I'm reading this and I have to reread it and I'm an attorney and I'm like, if I have to do this, it's not a non adversarial space for a veteran who may have an eighth grade education or who didn't graduate high school like many of the Vietnam veterans didn't. So we have to make it more streamlined. We have to connect them with people who are going to help them for free, which there are a lot of people out there that do that. And so it's, again, it's just, you don't have to know all the answers, you just have to know where to direct somebody.
JM: Absolutely. And so I mentioned it, but we didn't delve into the Michigan Military and Veterans Hall of Honor. Congratulations.
ZA: Thank you.
JM: That is very wonderful and seemingly well-deserved from all that you're doing and what you've done. How important is that to you and how do you feel about receiving that award?
ZA: You know, it feels great. You know, I don't do the things that I do for honor. I don't do them for recognition. I do them because I feel that there's a need. And I'm like, if not me, then who? But to be able to be recognized and not just recognized with an award, but to leave a legacy. And I think that that's how I look at it. I look at it as I have six children who, you know, one day I'm going to be gone. They'll be here with their children and maybe their children and they'll be able to say my mom lives in history for the things that she's done and all the time she took away from us and the traveling she did and we didn't see her. This is we can show that this is where some of the payoff was. So that is so amazing and so wonderful.
JM: So congratulations again. And so you continue to advocate. We've talked about that, but your day job is an appointed judicial official and court referee in Michigan. What does that entail?
ZA: So yeah, that's a new uh area. It's creating a great work-life balance, I'll say right now. uh But I get to work with uh juveniles who are in the criminal justice system. uh I work with neglect and abuse cases, and I work on domestic, uh child support, custody, uh parenting time cases. And so I hear those cases uh in Muskegon County on behalf of the judge that I work for. And so I'm kind of that first line of defense. If they don't object, that's the order of the court. If they do, then it goes to a judge and they can have a second bite at the apple. But I really get to, uh I think, I would say the biggest area that I do a lot of work in is the juvenile delinquency and then the neglect and abuse. And unfortunately, our children, I mean, they're starting so young, getting in trouble and it's like big stuff. And so how can we impart, can we mentor, how can we connect them with people who are going to help them so that they can get out of the rut and the space that they're in and move forward. And know there's a different life out there. Yeah, and that's the struggle right now, like trying to find resources for these kids in Michigan and Muskegon. It's in mentors that is if we can solve that problem, I think we can.
We can really solve the problem of getting kids back to where they need to be. And so there's just not enough resources out there.
JM: So you spend much of your life advocating for all variety of folks.
ZA: Yes.
JM: That's just our youth. And so that's just impressive. And so we appreciate that. I mentioned you're quite busy. Let's talk about some of the other things that you're doing and having fun with your involvement in the arts. You've been in numerous productions recently in the old heart, a feature film that premiered, I think, back in May.
ZA: Yes.
JM: That's kept you quite busy because you were traveling internationally I thought for that as well.
ZA: Yes, I went to Amsterdam uh about a month ago and we did some premieres out there. mean, yeah, we did some screenings out in Amsterdam. I think they had some screenings in Warsaw, Germany. We've won several awards. been it has been it has been an amazing journey for that.
JM: So you like to act and I read I think you have a Dutch accent.
ZA: I did. I did. I you know, I think it's really funny how I.
I say yes to things and I don't know all the details, which you need to be detailed oriented as a lawyer, so that's a flaw, I guess. uh But I said yes to this and I thought I was gonna play a smaller role in the movie and have less lines, and so I'm traveling all over the country and working for the president at the time, and then I find out that I had a major role and then had to have an accent on top of it. uh if I don't like to be challenged, I guess, that's what it is. But it was a challenge, but it was a great challenge.
JM: Wonderful, and so you've also had a radio show, you're an Emmy Award winner, part of a show that you created regarding veterans.
ZA: Yes, yes. So when I was at the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency, I had this amazing opportunity to create the Veterans Perspectives. uh It aired in Detroit and all over Michigan. It was a podcast. uh And so I got to create the content for that. I would say I was a show producer, a host, and we were on air for about two years. And so it was a really great experience for me to be able to learn more about what's out there, but then share that out with the public and then to know that people were actually listening. So that was cool. And thank you for the Emmy. Congratulations. But didn't you just win one? I know it's not about me, but about We did earlier this year.
JM: Our team did a mutually inclusive. Yes.
ZA: Well, congratulations.
JM: Thank you. speaking of that busy and powerful woman, you've also been married for over 25 years.
ZA: Yes. 26. We just hit 26 in September.
JM: Congratulations on that. Six kids, you and your hubby. And you still got all this done. How did that? I mean, I understand. And earlier on, it was it was very difficult because of all that you were going through and you were so young. But six kids now at this stage having fun, everybody's doing whatever it is that they're doing and growing and learning and moving and grooving.
ZA: Well, Two Sets of Twins is how you get there that quickly. But it's it takes a village is really not just a statement. It is the the word for my life between my parents and my husband and my friends and all the supports I've had. That's how you do it. That's how I've been able to travel and do all the things I've done because I have a really great support system. Two of which are here right now. Here and Andre are in the studio with us. They are. They are. Supporting. And they I know I tire them out with all the things that I'm doing, but um I feel like again, I get to that that that mindset if it's not me, then who? And so I have grandchildren as well and so they all keep me busy but then I keep them busy with helping to volunteer and do the things I do as well.
JM: Okay, goals and ideas for the future, Zaneta, and the importance of staying involved in these veteran affairs in your life.
ZA: Yeah, you know what, it's funny, I don't really have, it's not that don't have goals, it's just that I'm at the point in my life where I just allow God to lead me. I put myself out there and I say, Lord, you show me where I need to go and I'll follow. I'm trying to be Abraham. And so those last two major opportunities I had, that was exactly what happened. I received phone calls, this was not something that I planned for. And so I'm present in where I am and in the space that I am now, but I'm always letting, Lord, I'm open to where you wanna lead me and how you wanna grow me and how you want to move me. And so you just show me the way and I'll go. And so that's my goal is to continue to be obedient. To the calling and to continue to advocate in whatever space he has me in. And that is a good space to be in.
JM: Zaneta, I want to thank you for taking time to talk to us and with us for this special edition of Powerful Women Let's Talk. We want to thank you of course for your service and all the important work that you continue to do in our veteran community.
ZA: Thank you so much for having me. And of course a big thank you to all our listeners for joining us for another edition of Powerful Women Let's Talk.
