President

Dana Douglas

Shareholder, Liskow & Lewis

Dana Douglas is a shareholder at Liskow & Lewis. Ms. Douglas' practice emphasizes commercial, energy and intellectual property litigation in the firm’s New Orleans office. She has represented in a variety of energy related matters including exploration and production disputes, land ownership and expropriation litigation, landowner/mineral lessee disputes, royalty and related litigation and oil and gas marketing disputes. She also has represented clients in cases that focused on pipeline servitudes, rights-of-way, easements and other matters.

Ms. Douglas’ intellectual property practice has involved cases of trademark, copyright, patent infringement, trade secret litigation and cybersquatting. She also has experience in prosecuting trademark and trade name applications and drafting intellectual property licensing and work for hire agreements.

Ms. Douglas is past chair of the Young Lawyer’s section of the New Orleans Bar Association, past chair on the Minority Involvement Section of the Louisiana State Bar Association, and a past recipient of the Minorities in the Profession Fellowship of the American Bar Association. She currently sits on the Board of Directors for the New Orleans Bar Association and the Louisiana State Bar Association Board of Governors. She is also the Minority Recruitment and Retention Chair at Liskow & Lewis and co-chair of the firm’s Diversity Committee. Ms. Douglas served as a law clerk to the Honorable Ivan L.R. Lemelle, Judge, United States District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana, 2000 – 2001. She is a graduate of Miami University (Ohio) and Loyola University School of Law (New Orleans).

Vice President

Allison Plaisance

Manager, Ernst & Young

Allison Plaisance is a manager in Ernst & Young’s Fraud Investigations and Disputes Services (FIDS) practice specializing in fraud, disputes, and compliance matters in the energy related industries. A certified public accountant licensed in Texas and Louisiana, she has over 9 years of combined experience in the petrochemical, oil & gas, and power industries.

She is an active board member of the Council of Petroleum Accounting Societies of New Orleans, with a Bachelor’s of Accounting and International Business from Loyola University New Orleans. Allison is also a mentor and recruiter. She participates in Loyola’s Executive Business Mentor program, which pairs college freshmen with corporate volunteers that introduce them to the business world at a young age. She is also the recruiting manager for the New Orleans FIDS practice.

Treasurer

Karen Brignac

Manager, PPM Consultants

Karen Brignac is the Environmental Compliance Manager for PPM Consultants, Inc. (PPM) Baton Rouge office. PPM provides environmental permitting, compliance, and remediation services to industry including clients in the oil and gas sector. She has 27 years of industrial experience with 22 years of that in the environmental field.

Ms. Brignac has a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Oklahoma.

Communications Director

Christin McGhee 

Manager, Wegmann Dazet & Company

Christin McGhee is a Manager in Wegmann Dazet & Company's Business Consulting practice located in Metairie, Louisiana with 8 years of experience specializing in the delivery of fraud investigations and dispute dervices. Christin’s assisted clients with accounting restatements, allegations of securities fraud, and FCPA investigations, as well as assisting clients and counsel in the analysis of financial, accounting, statistical and general market data relating to liability and damages, as a result of post-acquisition disputes, royalty disputes, and insurance claims.

Christin is a graduate of Southeastern Louisiana University and Louisiana State University. She is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Fraud Examiner. Christin served on the Board of the UNO Energy Accounting & Technology Conference, and on the Board of the Council of Petroleum Accounting Society of New Orleans, where she served at the Treasurer.

Membership Director

Kelly Brechtel Becker

Shareholder, Liskow & Lewis

Kelly Brechtel Becker is a shareholder at Liskow & Lewis. She practices energy and commercial litigation in the firm’s New Orleans office and is licensed in all Louisiana state and federal courts. Kelly has experience in all types of oil and gas matters, including royalty disputes involving private and public royalty owners, severance tax, and state and federal regulatory matters, including exploration and production disputes, gas plant litigation, land ownership and expropriation litigation and oil and gas marketing disputes. She also represents clients in the energy industry in state and local tax matters, including matters before the Louisiana Board of Tax Appeals.

She is a graduate of the University of Virginia, and the Louisiana State University Law Center.

Secretary

Colleen Carr Jarrott

Associate Attorney, Schully, Roberts, Slattery & Marino

Colleen Carr Jarrott is an associate attorney at Schully, Roberts, Slattery & Marino in New Orleans. She practices energy and commercial litigation and is licensed in Louisiana. Colleen has experience in various types of oil and gas matters, including legacy lawsuits, advice to clients in connection with their offshore properties, joint operating agreement issues, areas of mutual interest issues, licensing of seismic, and other oil and gas industry business disputes. Other areas of practice include banking, construction litigation and government contracts.

She is a graduate of the Catholic University of America (undergraduate program) and the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law. Colleen clerked for the Honorable Robert H. Hodges, Jr. at the United States Court of Federal Claims in Washington DC following law school. Colleen is a member of the Louisiana Bar Association, the Women’s Energy Network, the Federal Bar Association, the Professional Landman’s Association of New Orleans, and the New Orleans Bar Association. 

Special Events and Networking Director

Kristi Trail

Manager, Shell Exploration & Production

Kristi Trail has 10+ years in the oil and gas industry. She graduated from LSU in 1996 with a Bachelors degree in Civil Engineering and in 1998 with a Masters degree in Civil & Environmental Engineering.

She is currently the Environmental Manager for the Gulf of Mexico with Shell Exploration & Production Company. Prior to joining Shell in 2002, she worked as an engineering consultant. She is also a member of the Air & Waste Management Association, and the N.O. Women’s Professional Council. 

 New Orleans Program Director

Dr. Linda Cummings

Director of Toxicological & Environmental Associates, Inc.

Dr. Linda Cummings is the Director of Toxicological Services for the environmental consulting firm, TEA.  She is a toxicologist and veterinarian with over 17 years of experience in the areas of human health and ecological risk assessment and litigation support.   During her career Dr. Cummings worked for the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) where she was appointed to the LDEQ's Clean-Up Standards Committee, a precursor of the Risk Evaluation/Corrective Action Program (RECAP).  She has also served as a Senior Technical Leader and the Gulf/Southeast Regional Lead for a Fortune 500 company's Risk Assessment National Practice Program. 

Dr. Cummings has provided project management for site investigation and remediation projects, as well as, risk assessment and regulatory support services for multi-sector clients. In addition, she has served as a toxicological consultant and peer reviewer to industrial, municipal, and environmental consulting firm clients for facility Corrective Measure Studies, Superfund sites, RECAP, Voluntary Remediation Programs, and other risk-based projects. She has provided toxicological litigation support and expert witness services to clients in the chemical, oil and gas, and maritime shipping industries. Dr. Cummings has been qualified as an expert in toxicology, risk assessment and project management.

Baton Rouge Program Director

Pam Mascari

Partner, Kean Miller

Pam Mascari is a partner in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller. She joined the firm in 1997 and practices in the litigation and toxic tort defense group. She represents clients in general litigation, oil and gas litigation, chemical exposure cases, environmental litigation, products liability cases, complex pharmaceutical drug litigation, state and local tax litigation, and in complex cases involving the underground storage of natural gas, petroleum, and other liquid and gaseous materials. Pam has extensive experience in the Louisiana energy, petrochemical and manufacturing industry and advises clients with regard to litigation strategy and litigation management.

Pam is BV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell and serves as the Chair of the Kean Miller Recruiting Committee. She earned her B.S. from Tulane University and her J.D. from the LSU Law Center where she was a member of the Order of the Coif, the LSU Law Center Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Law Review.