In December of 2024, Debra Ehrmann retired from Centro Multicultural La Familia in Pontiac, Michigan. For the next couple of months, her phone rang off the hook from families who needed her skill set. By July of 2025, she had an office set up in Pontiac for her consulting services under the title “Señora Debra” – as she is known in the community. Today, she handles more than 50 advocacy and human service cases for families in need.
“My community called me,” Ehrmann said. “I felt an obligation to come back and help.”
Ehrmann was awarded the Ohtli Award from the Consulate of Mexico in Metro Detroit back in September during the grito celebration at LA SED Senior and Youth Center. The Ohtli Award is bestowed by the Mexican government upon an individual of Mexican descent living abroad who creates paths for others. Ohtli is Nahuatl (a language spoken by the Nahua people) for the word “path.” Ehrmann has over 50 years of experience working with the end goal to help not just her community, but also those who don’t understand how to navigate the system.
“She has touched so many lives,” said Margarita Ovalle, community volunteer at Macomb Habitat for Humanity. “There have been some cases that were really hard and it has taken her sometimes months and months, but in the end, she has been able to find justice for them. It doesn’t matter what the problem is, she vows to work tirelessly for them.”
Ehrmann began advocating for others as so many Latino children do – by translating for her non-English-speaking father. She graduated from Wayne State University with a degree in Criminal Justice. When she became a mother, she volunteered at her child’s school and witnessed the needs of the Latino families.
“I saw a lot of need in the community because our children were being labeled as special ed,” Ehrmann said. “The fact that they don’t speak the language or don’t understand our customs here does not mean that this child needs special ed. So I advocated for children.”
Throughout the years, she has accumulated knowledge that has allowed her to see the value in everything, and when she handles a case at her consultation firm, she knows how the pieces click. And if they don’t click by themselves, she steps in – going so far as to accompanying a client during their court case. Her work involves translating for others, landlord-tenant issues, immigration issues, traffic violations, or showing up at a hospital to make sure an under-insured terminal patient receives medical care.
For the families she serves, Señora Debra is a call away when certain problems feel overwhelming or inaccessible due to culture shifts or language barriers. Her guidance in moments of crisis is invaluable, even to her coworkers.
Merlyn Parra, Student-Family Liaison at Walton Charter Academy, says Ehrmann’s work serves as a community example. Parra has known Ehrmann for over 20 years.
“She gives everything from the heart,” Parra said. “That’s the big difference.”
Whether she is navigating court paperwork, advocating for families, or accompanying expectant mothers to medical appointments, Ehrmann is more than an advocate. Her community work serves as reassurance to families unfamiliar with legal or institutional processes. Her consulting practice has become a lifeline for families who don’t often experience dignity, fairness, and compassion in their dealings with the system.
Today, Ehrmann’s work reflects decades of trust built in the Latino community. The families that seek her out are often navigating levels of fear, confusion, or isolation. For Señora Debra, the consultation services she provides are not a career phase or obligation – they are a community calling and she is always willing to answer the call.
“Every time I see her, she is always solving problems,” said Parra. “Not everyone does this work.”
