Zaneta Adams, JD

Department of VA, Biden Harris Administration
Woman of the Year

Zaneta Adams, JD served as Director of the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer from June 2019 to December 2022. She was the first woman veteran in Michigan to be appointed to a governor’s cabinet and the first cabinet member from Muskegon. Zaneta is humbled to have recently been appointed by the Biden-Harris administration to the role of Deputy Assistant Secretary of Intergovernmental Affairs for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Zaneta served eight years in the Army and was medically discharged with honor. She practiced law in Muskegon and assisted many veterans nationwide with VA appeals. Zaneta also serves on many nonprofit boards and was recently an appointed member of the VA’s Sexual Assault and Harassment Prevention Workgroup.

In 2021, Zaneta was named a Women Veteran Trailblazer by the VA’s Center for Women Veterans. She recently told her story for a VA’s Million Veteran Program documentary, which was submitted for a regional Emmy. She holds a bachelor’s in psychology from Columbia College and a juris doctorate from Western Michigan Cooley Law School, where she teaches veterans’ law.

Zaneta says, “There was a point in my life where I wanted to end my journey because I felt as though I was a burden on my family because of my disability. The fact that I made it through those moments to finish college, graduate law school, pass the bar, start a non-profit organization, and be selected by the Governor to run veteran affairs, is truly humbling. I never imagined I would find purpose in this way, yet because of my struggles, I was able to accomplish this. And by the grace of God, I am not done yet.”