LAGUNA BEACH, CA, June 08, 2026 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Annette Oltmans has been included in Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.

Mrs. Oltmans is the founder and CEO of The MEND Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating, equipping, and restoring individuals impacted by hidden forms of emotional abuse, coercive control, and domestic violence. Since founding the organization in 2016, she has worked to bring greater clarity, language, and support to victims and survivors whose experiences are often minimized, misunderstood, or dismissed.

Through The MEND Project, Mrs. Oltmans has helped raise awareness of emotional abuse in relationships, particularly the subtle and destructive patterns that often remain hidden and that outsiders don't see. Her work addresses a significant gap in society's response to abuse, as emotional abuse is frequently treated as less serious than physical violence, despite its profound impact on a person's mental, physical, and spiritual well-being. Under her leadership, The MEND Project provides online courses, free webinars, blog articles, downloadable tools, coaching call support, and training for responders, including counselors, advocates, faith leaders, educators, and other professionals.

A central part of Mrs. Oltmans' work is helping victims and responders recognize tactics that create confusion, self-doubt, and ongoing harm, including manipulation, blame-shifting, gaslighting, deflection, chronic defensiveness, and avoidance of accountability. She is also known for identifying and teaching on Double Abuse®, a term she coined to describe the secondary harm that occurs when a victim's disclosure of abuse is met with disbelief, criticism, minimization, or blame by the people or systems they turn to for help.

Mrs. Oltmans' leadership is both visionary and deeply engaged. She authors the organization's educational content and ensures the language remains clear, compassionate, and trauma-informed. Her belief is that clarity is often the first necessary step toward healing. She helps survivors understand when destructive relational patterns are not simply communication problems where they share responsibility, but signs of abuse that require clarity, support, and a path toward healing.

As a certified domestic violence advocate, a public and keynote speaker, and a frequent podcast guest, Annette Oltmans educates audiences on emotional abuse, helping them distinguish healthy relational dynamics from destructive patterns of communication, conflict, and control.

Mrs. Oltmans' professional affiliations include partnerships with numerous domestic violence agencies and the American Psychological Association, as well as memberships in the Institute on Violence, Abuse, and Trauma and the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, reflecting her ongoing commitment to collaboration and best practices in the field. She serves on the advisory boards of the Boone Center for the Family at Pepperdine University and Every Woman Treaty, a global advocacy organization active in 165 countries working to end violence against all women and girls by advancing international law. She is a member of the board of trustees for Northrise University in Zambia, where she supports counseling and educational opportunities for marginalized students.

Outside of her professional endeavors, Mrs. Oltmans values family life and enjoys boating, playing pickleball, snow skiing, spending time with her grandchildren, and exercising.

About Marquis Who's Who®:
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. The suite of Marquis® publications, including Who's Who in America® and Who's Who in the World®, remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the globe. Marquis® publications can be viewed at the official Marquis Who's Who® website, www.marquiswhoswho.com.

# # #