West Texas Energy Institute 2026

William Burford

Partner, Kelly Hart & Hallman, LLP

William B. Burford is a partner in the Midland, Texas, office of Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP.  He received a Bachelor of Science degree in geology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1975, and is a 1978 graduate of the University of Texas Law School, where he was a member of the Texas Law Review.  He has practiced in Midland since his graduation, primarily in the area of oil and gas title and transactional matters.  He has served, since its inception, on the editorial board for the development of title examination standards established by the Real Estate, Probate and Trust Law (REPTL) and Oil, Gas and Energy Resources Law (OGERL) Sections of the State Bar of Texas and is a past chair of the OGERL Section.  He is the Texas reporter for the quarterly Mineral and Energy Law Newsletter published by the Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law (formerly the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation) and has served as a trustee of the Foundation. 

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Gabriel Collins

Research Fellow, Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy

Gabriel Collins is the Baker Botts Fellow in Energy and Environmental Regulatory Affairs at the Center for Energy Studies at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and a Senior Visiting Research Fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. At Baker, he co-heads the Program on Energy & Geopolitics in Eurasia. He is also a water-energy nexus thrust leader at Rice’s WaTER Institute and an Editor Emeritus at the Texas Water Journal.

Gabe’s research focuses on energy, food, water, and national security. His work is regularly published in high-impact outlets such as Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The Naval War College Review, and the Baker Institute itself. A full repository can be found at https://www.bakerinstitute.org/expert/gabriel-collins, https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabecollins, and https://gabrielcollins.substack.com/.

Gabe received his B.A. from Princeton University and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School. He was a member of the U.S. Naval War College’s China Maritime Studies Institute team and is still teased by his family for joining a commodity hedge fund right before the 2008 market crash. Gabe is a Permian Basin native, reads Mandarin, Russian, and Spanish well enough to use them in his research, speaks each just well enough to get himself in trouble, and is licensed to practice law in Texas.  

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Michel Curry

Mike & Audrey LLC

Michel E. Curry is engaged in the private practice of law and currently serves as an expert witness and serves a select clientele in oil and gas related matters and serves as Treasurer of the Henry Foundation, a private philanthropy.  Mr. Curry is admitted to practice in Texas and New Mexico, is Board Certified in Oil, Gas & Mineral Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and is also a Certified Professional Landman (“CPL”).  He received a B.S. from the University of Texas and a law degree from Texas Tech University School of Law, cum laude. 

In May 2025, Mr. Curry retired as Vice President of Land and General Counsel for Henry Resources LLC where he supervised all oil and gas legal work and land functions for the company.  He is a former shareholder of Cotton, Bledsoe, Tighe & Dawson, PC, Midland, Texas, where he was engaged in the private practice of oil and gas law for 25 years. 

Prior to law school, Michel worked as an independent petroleum landman and in-house as a contract landman for Texaco Inc. Mr. Curry’s experience and legal practice covers most facets of the petroleum industry, with particular emphasis on producing property transactions, oil and gas contracts, exploration agreements, and title matters.  His geographic experience ranges from Alaska's north slope to the Gulf of Mexico, and most producing areas in between, and includes work in coal and lignite mining, wind energy, and natural gas marketing,

Michel served as president of the American Association of Professional Landmen (AAPL)  for the 2018-2019 term.  He has also served as assistant chair of the NAPE Operator’s Committee, as chair of several AAPL working committees and participated on the task force that drafted the 2015 Model Form Operating Agreement.  Michel is a past president of the Permian Basin Landmen’s Association.  Michel has also served on the State Bar of Texas Council for the Oil, Gas & Energy Resources Law Section, as a Trustee at Large for the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation and is a frequent lecturer and author on oil and gas subjects, with particular emphasis on operating agreements and title matters.

Michel makes his home in Midland, Texas, with his wife, Audrey L. Curry.  Michel and Audrey have two adult children and four grandchildren.

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Blaine Gamble

Founder and President, Equitas Energy Partners, LLC

Blaine Gamble is the founder and president of Equitas Energy Partners, LLC, where he has been instrumental since the company’s inception in 2017. He began field work in 2006 in East Texas. His expertise in landwork have earned him a reputation as a reliable and knowledgeable landman. He earned his CPL in 2014 and has had the opportunity to oversee projects in various parts of the United States, focusing his efforts mainly in Texas and New Mexico.

Blaine’s dedication extends beyond his professional responsibilities. He is involved in the Fort Worth Association of Professional Landmen (FWAPL), where he has served as president, director and AAPL director. He is also a member of PBLA - Permian Basin Landmen's Association, Dallas Association of Petroleum Landmen (DAPL), NMLA, OCAPL (Oklahoma City Association of Professional Landmen) and the Michael Late Benedum Chapter of AAPL.

Additionally, Blaine is committed to giving back to his local community. He supports organizations that aim to improve the quality of life in the Parker County area. His dedication to both his profession and his community demonstrates his unwavering commitment to making a positive impact in all aspects of his life.

Gamble’s blend of professional expertise, industry involvement and community engagement makes him an asset to the landman community. He and his wife, Annie, and their two kids live in Aledo, Texas. Blaine is a graduate of Texas Tech.

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Jerris Johnson

Landman and Technology Advocate

Jerris Johnson, CPL, has more than 20 years of practice as a land professional in the oil, gas, and renewable energy industries. He advises companies on blending traditional workflows with improved data systems, technological advancements, and AI to help land departments and professionals maximize productivity and efficiency. He is grateful for opportunities to present and educate at regional and national conferences and corporate events. Jerris also co-hosts the Real Deal Landman Show podcast, available on all major streaming platforms.

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Ella McDonald

Founder, McDonald Land Services, LLC

Ella McDonald grew up on a dairy farm outside Mill Creek, Oklahoma, where she learned early on that hard work doesn’t have a gender. Drawn to the oil and gas industry and beginning March 1, 1978, she pushed past skepticism and built a career defined by grit, people smarts, and integrity.  After being told by a man that “she could be a landman when pigs could fly”, she pushed forward with grit and discipline, demonstrating what persistence and hard work could achieve.

By 1980, Ella and a colleague formed an Oklahoma brokerage firm. In 1982 she founded McDonald Land Services, which has since grown into a full-service land company operating across the major basins of the continental U.S. Through her collaboration with the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board and Francis Tuttle Technology Center, Ella helped bring a foundational land title research course to the Petro Tech program, expanding pathways into land careers. 

In recognition of her leadership and lasting impact, Ella became the first female to receive the Oklahoma City Association of Professional Landmen Lifetime Achievement Award, honoring her 48 years of service in the oil and gas industry.  Ella stays actively involved in her community and supports a number of charitable efforts, including the Oklahoma Backpack program for school children. She and her family attend Goldsby Baptist Church, Goldsby, Oklahoma.

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Kyle Reynolds

Managing Member, RBG Permian

Kyle B. Reynolds, JD, CPL, & Immediate Past President of the American Association of Professional Landmen. He’s a seasoned pro in the energy sector with a knack for making things happen. Kyle’s journey has taken him from leading teams at Chesapeake Energy and Energen Resource Corp. to his current role as a managing member at RBG Permian. When he's not busy with all things land-related, Kyle enjoys cooking, exploring new places, diving into a good book, and passionately supporting the Arkansas Razorbacks. He's also a proud father of 3 and the entrepreneurial spirit behind Benjamin Lee Bison (a direct-to-consumer meat business), Bryant Moore law firm, and Greenway Capital Partners (a real estate investment firm).

Reynolds and his wife, Amy, have three beautiful children: Lila, Anne Douglas and Hardin. He enjoys cooking, traveling, reading, and all things Razorbacks sports, including writing weekly articles for The Pig Sty.

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Vincent Whisker

Senior Director, Commercial Development, Crusoe Energy Systems

Vincent Whisker is Senior Director of Commercial Development at Crusoe, the Denver-headquartered AI infrastructure company, where he leads origination and execution of AI data center campuses representing tens of billions of dollars in infrastructure investment. His focus is energy and power: structuring gas-fired generation, grid interconnection, utility and independent power producer partnerships, and long-term power supply agreements that unlock hyperscale compute sites across North America.

Vincent began his career in upstream oil and gas before pivoting to digital infrastructure, where he applies that energy background to the power-first logic of modern data center development. He holds a B.S. from the Colorado School of Mines and an M.B.A. from Regis University, and lives in the Denver area with his family.

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Julie Woodard

AAPL President

Julie Woodard, CPL, serves as president of the American Association of Professional Landmen, where she is currently focused on driving strategic growth and industry advocacy. She formerly served as the senior land manager for Expand Energy in the Northeast Appalachia Business Unit and has previously led land business development and exploration activities in the Mid-Continent region.

Woodard earned a Bachelor of Science in economics, pre-law, from Oklahoma State University and subsequently attended the University of Oklahoma’s Energy Management Program following her acceptance into law school. She currently serves on the OU Energy Management board of directors.

Woodard has been a member of the Oklahoma City Association of Professional Landmen and AAPL since 2004. She joined OCAPL’s Executive Committee in 2008 and is a past president of the association. Since 2007, she has chaired and served on numerous AAPL committees as well as the board of directors. She also has served as chair of the NAPE Operators Committee, a member of the Executive Committee as first vice president for 2025-26, third vice president for 2015-16, and president and chair of the AAPL Educational Foundation. Currently she is AAPL’s president.

Among her many honors, Woodard was a finalist in the Young Professional in Energy category of the International Oil and Gas Awards, Mid-Continent Division in 2013, included in Oil and Gas Investor’s distinguished list of “20 under 40” in the industry, and named OCAPL’s Landman of the Year in 2014 and AAPL’s Landman of the Year for 2014-15. Most recently, she was an honoree in Hart’s Oil and Gas Investor 2025 Influential Women in Energy.

In addition to her professional association involvement, Woodard is a past president of the Edmond Public Schools Foundation.

Most importantly, she is a dedicated and loving mother of three children: Grayson, Hallie and Henley. She and her husband, Brian, live in Edmond, Oklahoma. She enjoys spending time with family, being outdoors, vacationing and staying involved with her church community.

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