James "Jim" Griggs

Mr. James “Jim” Griggs, a resident of Fairhope, was appointed to the Board on May 9, 2008. Mr. Griggs has had a distinguished career in state government as Director of the State Lands Division at the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. He also served as a member of the staff of the Geological Survey/State Oil and Gas Board in the mid-1970s. Mr. Griggs also had a private law practice in Mobile during the 1980s that specialized in oil and gas and real property litigation.

 

Charles "Ward" Pearson

Mr. Charles “Ward” Pearson of Tuscaloosa was appointed to the Board on May 9, 2008. Mr. Pearson is a prominent attorney with a private law practice in Tuscaloosa, where he is president of the Pearson Law Firm. His areas of practice are oil and gas law, environmental law, and natural resources law. Mr. Pearson also has served as an adjunct professor of oil and gas law at the University of Alabama School of Law since 1993.

 

Rebecca Wright Pritchett

Rebecca W. Pritchett, founder of Pritchett Law Firm LLC, was appointed as a member of the Oil and Gas Board in 2003. Ms. Pritchett is originally from Clarke County and currently lives in the Birmingham area. A graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi and the University of Oregon School of Law, Ms. Pritchett’s law practice focuses on environmental and natural resources law. Ms. Pritchett is a member of the Birmingham, Alabama and American Bar Associations. She is a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Alabama Forever Wild Land Trust, past president of the Alabama Wildlife Federation, and serves on numerous environmental and legal affairs committees of various local, regional, statewide, and national organizations and trade associations.

 

Berry H. (Nick) Tew, Jr.

State Geologist/Oil and Gas Supervisor

Dr. Berry H. "Nick" Tew, Jr., a native Alabamian, was appointed State Geologist of Alabama in October 2002. Born in Mobile and raised in Sumter County, he has received BS, MS, and PhD degrees in Geology. As State Geologist, Dr. Tew also serves as State Oil & Gas Supervisor and Secretary of the Oil and Gas Board and is the 6th individual to serve in this position since the establishment of the Board in 1945. He has a comprehensive knowledge of Alabama's surface and subsurface geology through his 21 years of professional geological experience that includes petroleum exploration and development. He is a professional geologist licensed by the Alabama State Board of Licensure for Professional Geologists, a member of the Geological Society of America, and is a 21-year member of the American Association for Petroleum Geologists.