She has over two decades of experience in education and law, from high school English teacher to university administrator. She holds a law license in Nebraska and studies education law as her research path. She is the author of Violence in Student Writing: A Guide for School Administrators and coauthor of Law Meets Literature: A Novel Approach to the English Classroom. A longtime member of NCTE, Oltman has served on the Standing Committee Against Censorship and as a member of the selection committee for the Intellectual Freedom Award.