2026 GO-WV Election Candidates

John Bane

John Bane is Director of Government Affairs at EQT Corporation, a leading natural gas producer in Appalachia, where he directs state and regional policy strategy. He works closely with policymakers and stakeholders throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina on issues central to the region’s energy future.

Before joining EQT, Bane built his career in public service, with experience in both state government and the United States House of Representatives. He has also held leadership roles in industry organizations, including the Marcellus Shale Coalition.

Rooted in the region he serves, Bane is known for bringing a practical, boots on the ground perspective to energy policy shaped by the people and communities of Appalachia.

Conner Hutson

Conner Hutson is a strategic and results-driven energy professional with ownership-level experience in upstream oil and gas operations, regulatory navigation, and long-term industry development.

As Co-Owner and Stakeholder of WV Minerals LLC since July 2022, he has played a pivotal role in scaling the company’s portfolio from 300 to over 4,500 conventional wells, now producing approximately 2 million mcf of natural gas and 8,000 barrels of oil per year. He has directed five strategic acquisitions from initial evaluation through environmental transfer, regulatory compliance, and full operational integration, while leading field deployment strategies that optimize production efficiency and profitability with minimal capital exposure.

Deeply committed to West Virginia’s energy future, Conner is an active member of the GoWV Producers Issue Committee and has contributed industry articles published in 2025. He regularly coordinates with state and federal environmental and regulatory bodies and serves as a vocal advocate for data-driven growth, AI integration, technological innovation, and forward-looking energy infrastructure.

Conner holds a Bachelor of Science in Sports Administration with a minor in Business from Samford University (Class of 2021). His core strengths include upstream oil & gas production, strategic acquisitions, regulatory compliance, energy policy and long-term planning, and operational excellence in conventional wells. He is poised to bring his hands-on operational expertise, policy insight, and vision for innovation to boards and commissions shaping West Virginia’s energy economy.

Doug Malcolm

Douglas C. Malcolm is President of D. C. Malcolm, Inc., an exploration and production company based in Charleston, WV.  He graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering.  After school he worked for Tenneco Oil Company’s Eastern Gulf of Mexico Division in Lafayette, LA.

Until late 2024, Doug also served as President and CEO of Consumers Gas Utility Company, a local distribution company serving 8700 customers in three operating areas in West Virginia.

Doug has served five terms on Board of Directors of IOGA-WV and GO-WV and, in 2003, was elected President of the organization.  His duties on the Board of Directors included chairing the Membership, Technology, Environmental, and Commerce Committees.  He continues to be active with the GO-WV Producers Issues,  Environmental, and Scholarship Committees.  In 2008, he was presented with IOGA’s Gunslinger Award for Distinguished Service.

Doug lives in Charleston with his wife, Jody.  They have one daughter, Krysten, who lives in Charlottesville, VA.

Sam McKown

C.I. “Sam” McKown is president and owner of various entities that operate under the trade name McKown Associated Natural Resource Companies.  They own and operate conventional oil and gas wells as well as holding mineral, land and timber interests in Central and Southern West Virginia.  He maintains offices in Roane County and Charleston.

While working as an engineer intern for Conoco in the summer of 1987, he and his parents started the business by purchasing a small independent producer.  Upon graduating from WVU in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering, he assumed full responsibility for the operation.

Sam currently chairs the GO-WV Insurance Committee and is a Trustee of the GO-WV Insurance Trust in addition to serving on the Environmental and Safety Committee; Producers’ Issues Committee and various Sub-Committees of the organization.  Previously he has served as a Board Member of IOGA-WV and GO-WV; was Chairman of the Producers’ Issues and Membership Committees as well as Vice-Chairman of the Environmental and Safety Committee.  He is a member of numerous professional organizations, has served on various other private, public and non-profit boards and committees and currently serves on the Board of the National Stripper Well Association.  He and wife, Dayana, live in Charleston.  Sam has four children — Isaac (McKown), Quincy, Victoria and Isaac (Caro) as well a grandson, Charlie.   In his spare time, he enjoys flying and blowing leaves off the ten, mostly wooded, acre yard he mows.

Jonathan Morgan

Jonathan Morgan has over 14 years of experience leading operational and product teams globally across industries and has served as Chief Operating Officer of Jay-Bee for the last four years, and has been a member of the GO-WV board for the last two years. Most recently, he was instrumental in transforming Jay-Bee into a larger industry player, increasing production and expanding business lines. Before joining Jay-Bee, he successfully built and developed teams across the military, technology and oil and gas sectors. His last role was as a Product Manager at Google, launching cybersecurity, hardware and health products to billions of users. In addition, he has founded and worked with several startups, currently serving in multiple board and advisory roles.

P. Wayne Ammons

P. Wayne Ammons is a 32-year veteran of the oil and gas industry, Wayne began his career in June 1993, focusing on information management at Riley Natural Gas Company. When he left the company in 1999, he was administering natural gas contracts and conducting natural gas transportation and exchange.

From October 1999 to March 2013, Wayne continued his career at PDC Energy, Inc., specializing in oil and gas production accounting and regulatory reporting; programming spreadsheets, databases, and software applications; oil and gas field data capture information systems; and data conversion. He was a key team member in working with the company’s Operations districts to identify underperforming properties and devise methods for enhancing production. Wayne also conducted training within the organization.

Wayne was employed by CONSOL Energy Inc. from March 2013 to November 2014 as a Senior Purchasing Analyst in Material & Supply Chain Management. Wayne continues his career in oil and gas as an Operations & Systems Manager with M&A Resources LLC, and as a Project Manager with M&A Energy Services LLC.

A lifetime resident of West Virginia, Wayne is an honors graduate of Fairmont State University. In May 2011, he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration, majoring in Finance, and completing a minor in Information Systems. In August 2011, Wayne became a Project Management Certified Professional through coursework at Learning Tree International.

Wayne was a member of the West Virginia Desk and Derrick Club from May 2011 to April 2013, and from January 2015 to December 2018. He received an Above and Beyond Award from the Club in 2011. Wayne was Webmaster for the Club and served as Director on the Board of Directors in 2012, 2016, and 2018. He also served as Webmaster for the Association of Desk and Derrick Clubs from 2013 through 2018.

Wayne enjoys spending time with family, making new friends, networking, and promoting technology and the energy industry. He likes learning new skills, acquiring new responsibilities, and working with details.

Wayne and wife, Jennifer, have been married since 2003 and live near Weston, West Virginia. They have two daughters, Kirsten and Elizabeth, and three dachshunds, Daisy, Winston, and Einstein.

Darren Espey

Darren Espey built a career working in natural gas, NGL, and condensate trading, marketing, and logistics across all regions of the US and Canada before founding Icon Midstream in 2012. His experience is varied and broad, ranging across the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors. Espey led the commercial effort at multiple midstream companies, developing pipeline assets for producers, commercials & industrials, power generation facilities, and utilities. His experience across the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors provides him the unique knowledge to provide superior services to his clients. Icon’s business strategy is built on marrying natural gas commodity price economics with midstream development to provide the most economic solutions for its customers and clients.

With 30 years of experience, his formidable knowledge base includes building and monetizing upstream and midstream assets, capital fundraising, M&A advisory, consulting, expert witness and litigation support, minerals management, marketing, and trading, indoor agriculture development, and green energy asset management. His trading and marketing experience includes work at Natural Gas Clearinghouse/Dynegy, El Paso, Enron, UBS Warburg, Duke Energy, Constellation and National Energy & Trade. Esspey’s midstream career path began at National Energy & Trade, a privately held trading and midstream group that developed, owned, and operated nine intrastate demand and supply side pipelines in Texas and Louisiana, including the Monument Pipeline System, Eagleford Midstream, and NET Mexico. In the midstream space he cofounded and developed Eureka Midstream from its inception through partnering with ArcLight Capital and the Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Fund. Eureka was ultimately acquired by Equitable Midstream. After Eureka, his entrepreneurial spirit took center stage when he founded the Icon Midstream Group and developed and built Icon Midstream Pipeline, which was ultimately sold to Morgan Stanley’s Infrastructure Fund. Icon has continued to expand its trading and marketing business, transacting and transporting 1 BCF per day in almost every region of the US. Icon also continues to develop midstream infrastructure including the Icon New Energy Pipeline in WV, a 1 BCF underground natural gas storage facility in Indiana, a 20 BCF salt dome storage facility in East Texas, and additional demand side supply laterals in multiple states.

Espey is a native Texan, having been born and raised in Houston and Galveston. He is a graduate of West Virginia University, with a degree in International Finance.

Joe O’Donnell

Joe O’Donnell is an Appalachian Supply Buyer for IGS Energy Producer Services, Inc.   He has been in various natural gas marketing roles in PA for over 18 years.  After 8 years selling natural gas to commercial & industrial end-users, he moved into gas purchasing/aggregation for Dominion Energy.  He then worked briefly under Berkshire Hathaway Energy as part of the Dominion/EGTS pipeline acquisition until IGS Energy acquired the marketing/aggregation group in 2023 to assist in serving it’s end-user gas demand.  Joe has been involved with GO-WV over the past 10 years as a regular member of the Producers Issues Committee, and also serves on the Board of Directors for PIOGA.  He has a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Grove City College and an MBA from Waynesburg University.  Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his wife and four children – preferably outside.

Linda Tennant

Linda Tennant is owner of Simonetti Consulting, providing services as a land agent, energy law paralegal and environmental programs for the energy and chemical industry. She has held various managerial and engineering positions throughout the U.S. with General Electric, Occidental Petroleum, Bayer, NiSource and Spilman Thomas & Battle.

A West Virginia native, holding a bachelor’s degree in safety engineering from Fairmont State University, a bachelor’s degree in U.S. law/legal studies from California University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in environmental engineering from Marshall University.

She volunteers as a STEM mentor hoping to inspire West Virginia’s students to study in the science and engineering fields. A member of the WV Chamber of Commerce and Putnam County Chamber of Commerce. She has served as an officer and board member for several organizations including the American Chemical Society, Air & Waste Management Association, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, American Society of Safety Engineers.

Recently, she co-authored a book about her family history from Marion County, WV. Linda and her husband live in Teays Valley, WV. They have a grandson and a recent great-grandson from California.

Linda grew up in a large West Virginia family that serviced the oil, gas, and energy industry since the late 1800’s. Her great-grandfather drove a team of horses transporting equipment to pipelines and gas and oil fields in northern West Virginia. Continuing to be a part of the growth and success of West Virginia’s gas and oil industry is a family tradition.

Marlin Witt

J. Marlin Witt, CPA, CFP, CGMA is a partner at BakerTilly in the tax practice with expertise in construction and the energy sector specializing in oil and gas. He provides tax planning and compliance services, assists clients with mergers and acquisitions, performs complex federal and state corporate tax services, estate and trust tax planning, nonprofit advising and also focuses on auto dealerships and construction industries. He is involved in his professional associations and is a member of SOOGA, PIOGA and GO-WV. He is Chairman of the West Virginia Tax Institute and former CFO of the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia. He earned his BSBA in accounting from West Virginia State University.

Andria Alvarez Wymer

Andria Alvarex Wymer is the Director of Strategic Initiatives and Planning for Applied Construction Solutions and Energy Transportation, LLC based in Bridgeport, WV. As the third-generation member of the family businesses, she develops and oversees programs and projects to advance short-and long-term goals for both companies. Wymer is currently a member of the GO-WV Board of Directors and serves as the Co-Chair of the Communication and Education Committee, and the ABCWV Board of Directors where she previously served as chairman of the board in 2023. Additionally, Wymer is an active member of the ABC National Organization, CAWV, and the Federal Reserve North Central WV Industry Round Table, and volunteers with Building Hope and the Medbrook Children’s Charity. Wymer previously served on the WVU Cancer Institute Leadership Council from 2022 to 2025. Alvarez Wymer is a graduate of West Virginia University where she received degrees in Public Relations and Multidisciplinary studies (emphasis in Political Science, Business Administration and Communications) in 2013, followed by her MBA in 2014. Wymer was a member of the 2020 Generation Next 40 under 40 class, and was featured among the Women Leaders in the Construction Industry by the CAWV in 2018. Wymer resides in Bridgeport, WV, with her husband Quinn and their two children, Will and Anna Kate.