Jerris Johnson, CPL

Jerris Johnson, CPL, grew up around the oil fields of Oklahoma. His dad is a roustabout who single-handedly does the work of a three-man crew on a daily basis. 

Drafted into the family business, Johnson began mowing well sites around Oklahoma the day after his 16thbirthday. His dad would point to a spot on the map, and Johnson would head out with a 1-ton flatbed, a tractor with a brush hog and instructions not to come home until all the sites there had been taken care of. 

This experience fostered a strong work ethic and instilled the motivation to go to college — which was his dad’s intent — with Johnson being the first in his family to do so. Based on the recommendation of a family friend, he picked energy management as his major at the University of Oklahoma. A year into school and halfway through his first internship, Johnson started to realize what a landman is and that he would have opportunities to get paid for a variety of responsibilities that would rarely feel like work to him. 

While still in school, Johnson began running title and buying leases on behalf of a land service provider. After graduation, he started an in-house career that led to contributor and leadership functions in most of the major plays in the United States. Former employers include Burlington Resources, PostRock Energy, Chesapeake Energy and Energen Resources. 

After a corporate merger, a new door was opened, and Johnson began applying his in-house experiences to consulting work for numerous clients. This pivot provided the availability to prepare and present educational topics for AAPL, NADOA, NALTA and their local chapters. He also was able to focus on a LinkedIn newsletter he calls “News You Otter Know.”

At the beginning of 2023, Johnson returned in-house to continue a robust education into additional facets of the energy industry.  

Johnson and his wife, Heather, have been married for 21 years and grew up together in Enid, Oklahoma. They have two kids: Ella is in college and Thomas starts high school in the fall. The Johnsons enjoy traveling the country to new cities, where Jerris and Thomas will go to a baseball game while Heather and Ella tour the museums.