Board Members
2012 NARO Board of Directors, Officers and Staff
President: David Sikes
Chickasha, OK
David is a native Oklahoman and the third generation of his family to work in the energy industry. After earning an MFA from Chelsea University and managing his family’s business for 20 years, he accepted a position with Jeroco, Inc., where for the past 10 years as the Director of Operations he has managed the company’s mineral and working interest. Jeroco, Inc. is a non-operating oil and gas company based in Chickasha, Oklahoma. He is also involved in managing minerals of many clients that include personal holdings as well as bank trusts and university foundations.
David currently serves as the Vice-President of Jeroco. He has been a member of NARO for 9 years and has served as a member of the National Advisory Council to NARO, OK-NARO Secretary for 2 years and is the still on the OK-NARO Board as immediate Past President having served 2 terms as OK-NARO President. While President of OK-NARO David made 2 trips to Washington, D.C. as a representative of NARO’s National Legislative Council.
David has served as National President of NARO since Jan. of 2012.
David earned his Professional Certified Mineral Manger status from NARO in 2006. He is on the Board of Directors of the Grady County Mineral Owners Association and an adjunct professor at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. David is a member and past president of the Chickasha Rotary Club and is very active in Boy Scouting for over 45 years.
Vice President: Linn Willers
Jacksonville, FL
Linn A. Willers is a three-decade member of the National Association of Royalty Owners (NARO), a current NARO Board Member, a three term past NARO President, a NARO Texas Board member, the current President and Chairman of the NARO Foundation for Energy Owner Research and the Vice President of Wells Fargo Banks Trust Oil, Gas and Minerals Unit. Linn is a four-decade Trust Banker who earned his Bachelors Degree from Metro State University located in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is a Certified Mineral Manager (CMM), and a member of the following organizations: the American Association of Professional Landmen (RLP), the Denver Association of Petroleum Landmen (DAPL), the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, the Energy and Mineral Law Foundation, the National Association of Division Order Analysts (NADOA), the National Association of Lease Title Analysts (NALTA) and the Southwest Kansas Royalty Owners Association.
Corporate Secretary: Robyn Guest
Edmond, OK
Robyn attended Central State University (now know as University of Central Oklahoma) majoring in Business Management. She is a veteran of the United States Army Reserve. She and her husband David reside in Edmond, OK.
Robyn has been a member of NARO since 1988, and a member of OK-NARO since it was founded in 1991; and is also a member of NARO's National Legislative Council (NLC), and a member of all of NARO's affiliated chapters. She is past vice-president of OK-NARO and also served as membership chair for many years, in 2010 she served as Co-Chair of the OK-NARO Convention and has been named Chair of the 2011 OK-NARO Convention. Robyn has received numerous awards from NARO and OK-NARO for her many years of service to both organizations.She works in the family owned business Guest Petroleum, Incorporated, a small independent production and mineral management company and manages minerals in twenty-eight states.
Treasurer: Jim Leonard
Endicott, NY
Mr. Leonard’s professional practice primarily consists of natural gas lease and utility scale wind and solar power lease consulting, litigation support, management advisory services, financials and taxation.
Mr. Leonard graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University at Albany with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting degree in 1978. He is licensed to practice as a CPA in New York and Pennsylvania. His work experience began with the firm of Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co., (now KPMG) in their White Plains, NY and Stamford, CT offices. He is currently the managing member of James E. Leonard, CPA, PLLC in Endicott, New York.
In 2009, Mr. Leonard co-authored (along with Joseph Bennett, CPA of Cornell University) a course designed specifically for accountants dealing with the complex income and taxation issues of individual mineral rights owners.
Jim is a US Navy veteran. He recently earned his Private Pilot license.
Immediate Past President: Jeffrey E. Miller
Missoula, MT
Jeff Miller is a US Army veteran and has a BA degree in History from the University of Montana. He has been a member of NARO for eighteen years. During this time he has acquired the CMM designation from NARO, has been an active member of the National Legislative council and made numerous trips to Washington DC with that group. He is a member of the NARO board of advisors and has participated in many other NARO committees. As the Trustee of a family trust, his involvement with NARO has been instrumental in assisting him in the management of the trust’s mineral interests located in south Texas and throughout Oklahoma. For fun he flies his airplane.
At Large: Bill Sinclair
Dallas, TX
NARO-TX member, Bill Sinclair, has the family history and hands-on experience to become an active and dedicated member of the NARO board of directors. Dating back to the 1930s, Bill’s great-great-grandfather, J K Wadley, started drilling wells in addition to owner mineral interests in the East Texas Oil Field, the Hawkins Field and countless other fields and interests in the Ark-La-Tex region, as well as several other states across the country.
Bill’s grandfather was also in the exploration business and managed the Wadley minerals in the 1970s. After his death, Bill’s uncle Robert took over the management of the family’s minerals and left the operating side of the business to focus exclusively on mineral ownership.
Bill personally took an interest into the mineral industry when he moved to Dallas in 2005 to help manage his family’s minerals. There, he learned about oil and gas revenue accounting in addition to land management for the family’s various trusts. Determined to streamline the tedious process of mineral management, Bill designed and developed the first version of MineralFile, which was used to manage the mineral rights of various family entities.
The following year Bill founded Agelio Networks, Inc. and began development on the first commercial version of the application, designed solely for mineral owners and managers. It was released to the public in February of 2008.
Bill now lives in Denver, CO where he continues to run Agelio and spends his free time biking, fly fishing, playing hockey, skiing and spending time with his family.
At Large: Curt Edmondson
Beaverton, OR
J. Curtis Edmondson is a patent attorney and Licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.), holding a B.S. and Masters in Electrical Engineering. Mr. Edmondson has worked with inventors and innovators of oil and gas technology that will extend the life of oil and gas wells. Mr. Edmondson has also counseled and litigated on behalf of client's royalty interests, in particular, the application of California Blue Sky Laws to the transfer of oil and gas interests.
Before practicing law, he served for over 11 years as Chief Technical Officer at Petrolis/LIMS, a software innovator, where he negotiated software licenses and developed the first web-based system to track royalty payments, He was also the advisor to the XML Standards Committee of the American Petroleum Institute. Prior to Petrolis, Curt worked for Hughes Aircraft and Lawrence Livermore Laboratories as an electrical engineer.
At Large: Candice Brewer
San Angelo, TX
Candice Upton Brewer served as President of NARO-Texas form 2009-2012. Candice is the Director for the Carr Scholarship Foundation at Angelo State University. As Director she manages and is responsible for the mineral and royalty interests owned by the foundation with assets currently surpassing $96 million. Candice is a fifth generation mineral owner and rancher. Her background includes managing her family’s ranching business; was employed by Shannon, Porter and Johnson Law Firm and served as an agriculture and natural resource policy aide for a Congressman in Washington, D.C. She holds a degree from Texas A&M University.
At Large: Tina Bonner
Duncan, OK
Tina Bonner, Certified Mineral Manager (CMM), is a fourth generation royalty owner and began managing her own and her family's minerals and royalties in six states in 975 while a Communications Dissemination Training Coordinator for the Oklahoma Department of Education. he received both her Bachelor of Arts in Education and her Masters of Education, granted with high honors, from the University of Central Oklahoma. She has served in numerous capacities for the National Association of Royalty Owners, serving as President in 2007 and 2008, the National Association of Lease and Title Analysts, and the National Association of Division Order Analysts. She was ne of the two NARO members who served on the NADOA Model Form Division Order Committe. Currently she is serving as the Chair of the International Society of Energy Advocates, on the Advisory Council of the Oklahoma Commission of Marginally Producing Oil and Gas Wells, on the Scholastic Outreach Committee of the Oklahoma nergy Resources Board, as a Petro Pro, as Immediate Past President of the National Association of Royalty Owners, and an officer on the Board of the NARO Foundation. She is a member of the International Society of Energy Advocates, the National Association of Royalty Owners (NARO), Oklahoma‐NARO, NARO‐Texas, NARO‐Rockies, NARO‐Arkansas, NARO‐Appalachia, NARO‐Pennsylvania, the National ssociation of Division Order Analysts, and the National Association of Lease and Title Analysts.
At Large: Janice Bennett Good
Buena Vista, CO
Janice Bennett Good is an engineer, rancher and a long-time member of NARO (24 years). Janice has managed her family’s Permian Basin and Colorado mineral interest for the past 25 years. She has a degree in chemical engineering and worked for ExxonMobil in the areas of oil and gas reserve appraisals and gas plant fees charged to royalty owners. In 2001-2003, Janice established NARO-Rockies. She served as its’ first President and on the Board of Directors of NARO National. Janice lives in Buena Vista, Colorado with her husband, Bob Good and has two grown daughters.
At Large: Emily Wagner
Canfield, OH
Emily Wagner lives in northeastern Ohio and is the manager of a family property management company. Emily has been managing the company’s mineral interests in Ohio and Pennsylvania for over 20 years. She is a graduate of Miami University with a BS in Business Administration. Emily is the secretary of NARO Appalachia and the organizational director of the Ohio delegation of NARO. She directs vital education efforts for professionals and a network of landowner groups representing over 500,000 acres. Currently Emily is working to present the mineral owners prospective to the legislator of Ohio and to bring a voice to royalty owners.
NARO-OK President: Mason Mungle
Oklahoma City, OK
NARO-TX President: Terry Retzloff
Campbellton, TX
NARO-Rockies President: Michelle Smith
Denver, CO
NARO-Arkansas President: Terrel Shields
Siloam Springs, AR
NARO-Appalachia President: Robert Hart
Charleston, WV
NARO-Pennsylvania President: Jackie Root
Lawrenceville, PA
Jacqueline A. Root, CMM
Jackie and her husband Clifford, own a 400 acre crop and livestock farm with a producing Marcellus gas well in Lawrenceville, PA. She has a degree in animal husbandry from SUNY Delhi, was employed by NASDA for 25 years as a field supervisor, operated a successful income tax preparation business for 10 years, is President of R&R Energy Consulting, LLC and now serves as President of the new NARO PA Chapter. The first landman approached the Roots in 1999 offering $2 per acre for a 20 year lease. Jackie began researching the process and quickly realized that if neighbors worked together they could negotiate a lease to protect their asset and encourage development. Since that time she has negotiated deals for over 19 landowner groups totaling more than 200,000 acres. NARO membership offers access to an extensive knowledge base to aid in successful mineral management, Jackie is excited about sharing this opportunity with mineral owners in all producing regions of PA.
NARO-Louisiana President: Lynn Higginbotham
Shreveport, LA
Executive Vice President
Mr. Elder has been involved in the energy sector for nearly 10 years in various capacities. Prior to attending business school, Mr. Elder began investing in non-operated working interests in Oklahoma natural gas plays alongside Comanche Exploration of Oklahoma City. Mr. Elder owns interests in two working interest and royalty investment companies based in Oklahoma City, Clover Capital LLC and Blair Royalties, LLC respectively.
During business school, Mr. Elder was employed by Blue Lion Ventures, LLC (now Tritaurian Investments) a boutique investment bank, based in New York, focusing on debt and equity financing for various small and mid-tier independent oil and gas companies.
After completing his degree, Mr. Elder was employed by Trinity Industries (NYSE: TRN) in the Capital Markets Division of the wholly owned subsidiary: Trinity Industries Leasing Company. Mr. Elder participated in Asset Backed Securitization of the leased railcar fleet with a fair market value exceeding $1 Billion.
Prior to joining Phillips Energy Partners, Mr. Elder worked as a private client advisor for Tolleson Wealth Management, a boutique private wealth management firm in Dallas, Texas with greater than $2 Billion under management.
Mr. Elder has an MBA from St. John’s University in New York, New York, where he was awarded a full academic scholarship, and a BA in Economics from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.
MR. Elder is a member of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, Young Professionals in Energy, Texas Land and Mineral Owners Association, and is Co-founder and President of the National Association of Royalty Owners – Louisiana Chapter.
NARO-New York President: Nick Schoonover
Tioga Center, NY
NARO-North Dakota President: Dean Zaderaka
Minot, ND
