Zion Oil and Gas Leadership

John M. Brown – Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Executive Chairman

John M. Brown, the company’s founder, has been Chairman of the Board of Directors since its organization in April 2000. Mr. Brown has extensive management, marketing, and sales experience, serving as corporate director of purchasing at GTE Valeron, a subsidiary of GTE Corporation from 1966 to 1986, and as corporate director of procurement at Magnetek, Inc. during 1988-89. Until 2012, Mr. Brown has been also an officer and director of M&B Holding Inc. a provider of cement walls and floors for industrial buildings, office buildings, and home developers.

William H. (Bill) Avery – President

William H. Avery was appointed to the Board as a non-employee director, effective September 1, 2013. From 2001 to 2003, Mr. Avery worked on a broad variety of administrative, financial and legal matters for the Company. He served as Vice President of Finance and Treasurer commencing 2003 until 2007. He worked full time as Executive Vice President and Treasurer and as a director commencing in 2007 with responsibility for administration, finance and legal until 2010. Avery has a BBA in Finance and Economics from Southern Methodist University and a Juris Doctor from Duke University.

Martin van Brauman – Corporate Secretary and Treasurer, Senior Vice President

Martin M. van Brauman was appointed to the Board effective April 1, 2014, and since January 1, 2012, has been the Corporate Secretary and Treasurer and since June 1, 2013, has been a Senior Vice President. Previously between July 1, 2007, to January 31, 2009, he served as the Chief Financial Officer, Corporate Secretary, Senior Vice President, and Board director. Between February 1, 2009, to July 1, 2009, he served as the Chief Legal Officer. He is Board Certified in Tax Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and has been in private legal practice in Dallas specializing in international and corporate tax and business corporate law. Previously, he spent 12 years as a Senior Attorney (International Specialist and Petroleum Industry Specialist) with the Office of Chief Counsel, IRS, followed by three years as a tax consultant with Deloitte & Touche and Grant Thornton. He has published on subjects related to taxation of international oil and gas ventures. Mr. van Brauman holds a B.E. degree from Vanderbilt University, a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from St. Mary’s University and an M.B.A. (Beta Gamma Sigma) and LL.M. (Tax Law) from Southern Methodist University. He has been an Adjunct Professor at Southern Methodist University, School of Law, LL.M. Tax Program and at the University of Texas at Dallas, Masters of Accounting Program.

Michael Croswell – Chief Financial Officer

Michael B. Croswell Jr., CPA, is currently serving as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO). In February 2013, Mr. Croswell was promoted to Vice President of Administration and in August 2016, he was promoted to CFO. Michael is a corporate accounting and management professional with a diverse range of industry experience. He has been a Certified Public Accountant since 1997 and earned his Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting from Stephen F. Austin State University in 1994 and earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Dallas in 2013.

Dr. Lee Russell – Senior Geoscience Advisor

Dr. Lee R. Russell has been an independent Geoscience Consultant with the Company since August of 2012. He has over 41 years of industry experience in research and exploration positions with Shell Oil Co., Arco, and Sun Oil, as well as in his own exploration pursuits and consultancy. Projects have ranged from domestic exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, Rocky Mountains, and Alaska, to international projects in East and West Africa, North Sea, Norway, Onshore China, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Newfoundland. He is a published author of many scientific articles and served as a Panel Chair and Co-Author of a National Research Council study on “Solid Earth Sciences and Society.” He received his BA in Geology from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1970, and MSc and Ph.D. degrees in Geology and Geophysics from Texas Tech University in 1972 and 1977. He is a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, serving two terms as Associate Editor, and is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America.

Robert Dunn – Operations Director

With a career spanning 26 years and 5 continents, Robert Dunn brings an extraordinary wealth of expertise to Zion Oil & Gas, encompassing all phases of the seismic acquisition process, from field operations to presidential leadership in onshore drilling and geophysical services. Mr. Dunn’s endeavors focus on obtaining optimal, safe, and commercially-effective results in frontier exploration and development.

Mr. Dunn was President of Geophysical for Viking Services from 2012 before joining Zion. In that capacity, Mr. Dunn managed all aspects of geophysical exploration in Europe, Turkey, and Africa, seeing Viking acquire over 7,800km2 of 3D and 10,000km of 2D. During his tenure, Mr. Dunn also implemented operational plans in Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Iraq as Managing Director of Central European Drilling and Oilfield Services in Northern Iraq. Prior to this, Mr. Dunn oversaw Viking’s acquisition of over 2200km2 of 3D as Technical Operations Manager, leading to the discovery of new basins.

Mr. Dunn’s considerable experience extends to the early ’90s, and includes logistics/acquisition management in remote regions ranging from the Arctic to South American jungles as Project Manager and Technical/Recording Crew Manager for CGG Veritas, where his innovations helped Veritas become the largest, most trusted name in the geophysical industry.

Paul Oroian – Director

Paul Oroian was appointed a director in November 2003. Since its founding in 1983, he has served as President and managing partner of Oroian, Guest & Little, P.C., a certified public accounting and consulting firm based in San Antonio, Texas. Mr. Oroian holds a Bachelor of Science – Business Administration from Bryant College. He has served as a board member of Technology Oversight Committee and the IRS Regional Liaison Committee of the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants and was Vice President and a director of the San Antonio CPA Society between 1992-1998. He currently serves as treasurer and is a director at the Youth Orchestra of San Antonio (YOSA).

Forrest A. Garb – Director

Forrest A. Garb, appointed a director in November 2005, is a petroleum engineer well known in the petroleum industry for providing independent consulting services for more than 45 years. His consulting career began with H.J. Gruy and Associates, Inc. and its successors, where he served as a Vice President for four years, Executive Vice President for ten years, and President for fifteen years. In 1988, Mr. Garb founded Forrest A. Garb & Associates, Inc. a privately-owned petroleum consulting firm, where he served as chairman and CEO until his retirement in 2003. Mr. Garb was educated in petroleum engineering at Texas A&M University (BSc and Professional MSc) and received his early training at Socony Mobil Oil Company in Kansas, Texas, Louisiana, and Venezuela. Mr. Garb is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and is a past President of the Society of Petroleum Evaluation Engineers. He is a member of the Association of Computing Machinery, the American Arbitration Association, the Petroleum Engineers Club of Dallas, the Dallas Geological Society, and is a member of the AAPG. He is a charter member of The American Institute of Minerals Appraisers. He is a registered professional engineer in Texas.

Gene Scammahorn – Director

Mr. Gene Scammahorn joined Zion as an independent member of our Board of Directors in October of 2012. Mr. Scammahorn graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma and was a Texas Certified Public Accountant as well as a Certified Financial Planner until his retirement in 2017.

He has over 30 years of business experience including having worked for two “big four” public accounting firms, major oil and gas companies, as well as in banking and consulting. From 2001 to 2012, he was the Internal Audit Services Director, Xerox Business Services, LLC.

Kent S. Siegel – Director

Kent S. Siegel, was re-appointed to the Board of Directors in January 2013.  He previously served on our Board from November 2003 to April 2011 and also served as Zion’s Chief of Finance from July 2010 to April 2011.  He has served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Siegel and Siegel, P.C. since 1984. Siegel and Siegel is a firm of certified public accountants and attorneys at law based in West Bloomfield, Michigan, at which Mr. Siegel practices as a tax and bankruptcy attorney and CPA. Mr. Siegel holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Michigan State University School of Business, a Juris Doctor from Wayne State University School of Law and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Lawrence Technological University School of Engineering. He currently serves as chairman of the Temple Israel School Board Fund Raising Committee.

Jeffrey Moskowitz – VP and Israeli Branch General Manager

Mr. Jeffrey Moskowitz is a certified attorney in Israel with over 30 years of experience primarily in the areas of corporate and commercial law. Mr. Moskowitz served as an attorney and in-house legal counsel at Koor Industries, a major Israeli industrial concern. For over ten years, Mr. Moskowitz has been providing Zion Oil & Gas legal advice regarding various aspects of operations in Israel. Mr. Moskowitz has developed an expertise in all aspects relating to the Israel oil and gas industry, including helping to guide exploration companies such as Zion through the complexities of governmental permitting and regulatory issues. Mr. Moskowitz has extensive experience working with the Israel Securities Authority and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange that will serve as a very valuable asset in assisting with corporate strategy and implementation. Since 2008, Mr. Moskowitz has also assisted Martin M. van Brauman, Zion’s Corporate Secretary/Treasurer/SVP, in establishing and maintaining the Bnei Joseph Foundation, an Israeli charity.

Mr. Moskowitz graduated from Bar Ilan University with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree. Mr. Moskowitz served in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) as a combat medic.

Virginia Prodan – Director

Ms. Virginia Prodan is an international human rights attorney, an Allied Attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom; a sought-after International Speaker and an Author – www.virginiaprodanbooks.com.
Her memoir – Saving My Assassin – was published in 2016 by Tyndale House Publishers.
She is the president and the founder of Virginia Prodan Ministries – www.virginiaprodan.com.
Ms. Prodan earned a Juris Doctor Degree at the Bucharest Law School, Romania, and was licensed in 1977. She was exiled from Ceausescu’s Romania in 1988 for defending human rights cases, which concerned Ceausescu’s persecution of Christians in Communist Romania. She earned a Master of Laws, LL.M. International, in 1995 and earned a Juris Doctor in 1997 from Southern Methodist University.

She is licensed in Colorado and in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. She was an intern for the Institute for Justice in Washington, D.C. and was an intern for U.S. Judge Sidney Fitzwater of the Northern District of Texas.
She taught as the Adjunct Faculty at El Centro College Paralegal Program.

Ms. Virginia Prodan has been appointed by the TX Governor Gregg Abbott to the Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission; has served as a Board of Directors in several political and professional groups or clubs. She is on the advisory board of Stand with Persecuted Churches, the 21st Century Wilberforce Ministry and 4wordwomen; and just finished her 3rd term as the State Republican Executive Committee Women (SREC) for Senate District 16.

Ms. Virginia Prodan currently resides in Dallas, TX, where she enjoys practicing law, writing, attending the opera and the symphony, and traveling for pleasure. She has two daughters and a son. She also enjoys her numerous speaking engagements, where she continues to inspire and impact lives with her incredible true-life story.

John T. Seery – Director

Mr. Seery has over forty years’ experience in the project management and design of oil and gas facilities. Projects have included refining, gas processing, compressor stations, oil and gas terminals, production and storage facilities. His scope has ranged from feasibility and conceptual design and studies, including cost estimating, detail design, procurement, startup, project and construction management of domestic and international projects.

Mr. Seery was employed by Mustang Engineering from 1998 – 2015, until his current retirement as a Project Engineer and included projects across the United States and Lithuania, Scotland, Columbia and Equatorial Guinea for clients such as Williams International, ExxonMobil, Citgo and Oxy. At Mustang Baltic-he was General Manager/ Site Project Engineer –at a Russia Refinery in Lithuania. He was employed by Basic Systems, Inc. as a Project Manager for projects in the Ukraine and Uzbekistan from 1993 to 1998. He was employed as a Project Manager by Armelline Engineering from 1990 to 1992 for projects in Oklahoma and California for clients such as Arco Oil & Gas and Mobil Gas Co. He was employed by Nova Engineering from 1984 to 1990, Aztec Construction Co. from 1981 to 1983, Edeco- he was General Manager/ Project Manager from 1973 to 1981 and Sun Oil Refinery from 1969 to 1973. Mr. Seery earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at New Mexico State University and is a retired Professional Engineer.