Annemiek Dogan

About Annemiek Dogan

Annemiek Dogan inspires with her story as a speaker and expert in grief and entrepreneurship. Her entrepreneurial journey was marked by ups and downs: from deep in debt to building a multimillion-dollar company. By continually believing in herself, maintaining focus, and staying close to her inner fire, Annemiek was able to turn her vision into reality.

After a career as an art director, she dedicated herself to grief counseling and founded the Grief.Academy, where she has since helped more than 50,000 people cope with loss in a contemporary way. Her expertise is widely recognized; she has appeared in over 20 newspapers and magazines and authored two books. Organizations such as the Public Prosecution Service, Rabobank, and the Municipality of The Hague invite her for lectures and workshops on employee grief.

Annemiek works 2.5 days a week, location-independent, proving that success and personal balance can go hand in hand. Her story and insights offer a powerful combination of knowledge, inspiration, and practical tools for dealing with loss and conducting business with authenticity.

Biography

Born in 1984 in the small village of Wilp, Annemiek Dogan began her career after studying design and art direction. She worked as an art director at various advertising agencies but soon missed the depth and fulfillment that extends beyond selling products. Driven by a desire to make the world a better place, Annemiek started her own marketing agency and became involved with the industry organization BGNU. Here, the question arose that would change her life: who takes care of people experiencing grief?

This question marked the start of an inspiring career switch. Annemiek pursued various courses and began volunteering, guiding young people through their loss. The idea of becoming visible and making her voice heard was daunting for her until she herself lost her daughter Vlinder after five months of pregnancy. When she heard shortly after the funeral, “Oh, are you still dealing with it?” Annemiek decided, despite her fear, to step forward and offer webinars and online workshops.

Within five years, under her leadership, Grief.Academy grew to become the market leader in grief counseling, and Annemiek received an award for achieving over a million euros in revenue. Today, she works location-independent, only 2.5 days a week, proving that success, freedom, and deep meaning can go hand in hand.

Annemiek lives with her family in Arnhem, is the mother of three daughters, two of whom she cares for daily, and is fully committed to her mission: breaking the taboo on grief so that no one ever has to grieve alone again.