Celebrating Value and Talent: Personal Journeys in Navigating Workplace Accommodations

NDEAM Speaker - Tracie DeFreitas

Tracie DeFreitas is a Program Leader and Training Director for the Job Accommodation Network (JAN), the nation’s leading resource on workplace accommodations and the interactive process. Tracie brings more than 30 years of experience providing expert consultation and delivering effective training on a wide range of accommodation and compliance issues. A nationally recognized speaker and writer, she is known for guiding organizations through complex ADA challenges and translating requirements into practical, results-oriented strategies that extend beyond basic compliance. In her leadership roles, Tracie directs the planning, design, and delivery of JAN’s training initiatives and collaborates in overseeing the program’s day-to-day operations.

Tracie has served the JAN organization in various roles since joining the team, including as Principal Consultant, Lead ADA Consultant, Project Manager for the Campaign for Disability Employment, and Senior Sensory and Immunology Specialist and Team Lead. As Project Manager, she collaboratively developed and launched the Campaign for Disability Employment (CDE), a U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy, and an award-winning national public awareness campaign designed to promote employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Tracie engaged key national disability and business stakeholder groups, including the U.S. Business Leadership Network [now Disability:IN], Special Olympics, the National Business and Disability Council, Society for Human Resource Management, the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, and the American Association of People with Disabilities, among others.

Tracie is a graduate of West Virginia University with a Master of Science degree in Rehabilitation Counseling and Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. She has held professional certification as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor and Certified Leave Management Specialist and is an ACE certified Health Coach.

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NDEAM Speaker - Eshe Dotson

Eshe Dotson (pronounced E-shuh) is a human resources director at Plante Moran, where she leads the strategy and execution for recruiting, people development, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). She’s been working in human resources her entire career.

Known around Plante Moran for her larger-than-life personality, Eshe is a true people-person. She takes a behavioral approach to help people find their "career best" role — having optimal convergence between their skills, level of passion, and organizational alignment. Once onboarded, Eshe and her team strive to help people develop the skills needed to successfully grow and advance within the firm. Her most noted, firmwide accomplishments include launching staff resource groups; serving as talent acquisition lead for the Healthcare Consulting practice during its largest hiring period; creating a new, practice-staff promotable event; formalizing a behavioral skill development program as a core learning requirement; revising the firm’s core competency development model; and being a recipient of Plante Moran’s Morrison “spirit” Award.

Academic background and credentials:

• B.B.A. and M.B.A, Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids, MI
• SHRM-CP, Society for Human Resources — Certified Professional
• PHR, Professional in Human Resources

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NDEAM Speaker - John. E. Johnson, Jr.

Attorney John. E. Johnson, Jr. currently serves as the Executive Director of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR), the operational arm of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission (MCRC). MDCR fights discrimination by enforcing the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA), Persons With Disabilities Civil Rights Act (PWDCRA), and other related Michigan discrimination and disability laws. He was appointed by the MCRC in June 2021, and oversees an annual budget of more than $31 million. MDCR has about 200 employees, with offices in Lansing, Detroit, Flint and Grand Rapids.
 
Prior to joining MDCR, Johnson served in a number of leadership positions, including Executive Director of the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus; Corporation Counsel for the City of Detroit; Executive Director, General Counsel and 1st Vice President for the Detroit Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); Deputy Executive Director and Chief Counsel for the Legal Aid and Defender Association; Deputy Executive Director for Wayne County Neighborhood Legal Services; Managing Attorney for the UAW Legal Services Plans; Chairman of the Wayne County Economic Development Corporation; Chairman of the Wayne County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority; President of the Michigan Coalition for Human Rights; and President of the Wolverine Bar Association.
 
Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, Johnson has a Bachelor of Arts from Howard University and a Juris Doctorate from Valparaiso University. He has been a member of the State Bar of Michigan for more than 46 years.
 
Johnson’s awards include the Detroit NAACP “Freedom & Justice Award”; National NAACP “Foot Soldiers Award”; Michigan Chronicle “Men of Excellence Award”; Michigan ACLU “Bernard Gottfried Bill of Rights Day Award”; IAOHRA “Arthur L. Green Civil and Human Rights Award”; and the Association of Black Judges of Michigan “Ossian Sweet Award.”

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NDEAM Speaker - Tiara McKenzie 

Tiara McKenzie serves as a member of the Executive Team at the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR) and manages the ADA Compliance Unit. In her role, Tiara is charged with ensuring accessibility and inclusion of people with disabilities in all programs, services, activities, hiring, and recruitment. Additionally, Tiara provides leadership and guidance to the State of Michigan’s network of Title II ADA Coordinators to promote compliance with state and federal disability rights laws.  With a passion for public speaking, Tiara regularly develops and hosts public forums to educate the community on disability rights and compliance, garnering the interest of hundreds of attendees each session. 

Tiara is a certified ADA Coordinator. She began her civil service career in 2009 at the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services and holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Davenport University. Her undergraduate studies were completed at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology with a concentration in Social Inequality: Race, Class, and Gender.  

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NDEAM Speaker - Chelsea Orito

Chelsea Orito is a newly-licensed attorney who was born with a severe visual impairment.  She obtained her bachelor’s degree from Portland State University and went on to earn her juris doctor degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School.  Chelsea has worked as an Employment Team Advocate at Disability Rights Michigan since January of 2019.

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NDEAM Speaker - Marisa Spain

Marisa is an Advocate on the Employment Team at Disability Rights Michigan, Michigan's designated protection and advocacy organization for individuals with disabilities. Her team does a variety of work providing information and advocacy to disabled individuals experiencing employment related issues. In her role, she helps provide information to callers about reasonable accommodations, the discrimination complaints process, and about how to resolve Social Security overpayments. In addition to providing information, the majority of Marisa's work focuses on providing direct advocacy to individuals experiencing barriers to accessing services through the state vocational rehabilitation system and difficulties obtaining or keeping Freedom to Work Medicaid coverage with MDHHS. 
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Marisa has worked in disability advocacy for about five years. Before coming to DRM in 2024, she held positions with the University of Michigan's Student Accessibility and Accommodation Services as an Accommodations Specialist, and with the City of Detroit's Office of Disability Affairs as a Policy Research Assistant. During her time at the City, she also completed the ADA Coordinator Training Certification Program. Marisa lives with a form of muscular dystrophy, is a power wheelchair user, and former recipient of vocational rehabilitation services. She is driven in her work by this lived experience and is passionate about making positive change for her community. 

Alt-Text: Marisa Spain is a white woman with long light brown hair and large thin rimmed geometric shaped glasses. She is wearing a red button up shirt with a mustard yellow cardigan. She is photographed smiling at the camera, sitting in her power wheelchair against a lit background with an orange-yellow gradient.