OUTSTANDING PUBLIC SERVANT

2026

DAVE GLATT

The North Dakota Petroleum Council presented Dave Glatt with the NDPC Outstanding Public Servant Award in recognition of more than four decades of service to the State of North Dakota. Throughout his career, Glatt was dedicated to protecting the state’s air, land, and water, guided by a regulatory philosophy centered on science, collaboration, and sound environmental policy.

Born in Valley City and raised in Milpitas, California, Glatt graduated from North Dakota State University with a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in environmental engineering. After briefly working for the Los Angeles Flood Control District, he returned to North Dakota in 1983 and joined the North Dakota Department of Health.

Glatt was appointed director of the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality in May 2019 by then-Gov. Doug Burgum and was reappointed by Gov. Kelly Armstrong in 2024. Before leading DEQ, he served as chief of the North Dakota Department of Health’s Environmental Health Section from 2002 to 2019. Over the course of his career, he also served as director of the Division of Waste Management, interim director of Consolidated Laboratories, assistant director of the Division of Water Quality, and manager of the Groundwater Protection Program. He helped implement the Safe Drinking Water Act in North Dakota and served as the state project manager for an EPA Superfund project addressing high arsenic levels in groundwater in southeastern North Dakota.

Glatt was also recognized for advocating for North Dakota’s role in administering and enforcing its own environmental programs. During periods of disagreement between state officials, regulated industries, and the federal government over environmental regulations, he worked with industry and federal regulators to advance state-based regulatory and monitoring approaches. His leadership reflected a commitment to using scientific evidence, regulatory expertise, and cooperation to protect North Dakota’s environmental resources while providing a workable regulatory framework for the state’s industries. EPA records document North Dakota’s longstanding role in administering state environmental programs in partnership with EPA Region 8.

Following 43 years of service to the state, Glatt retired from the Department of Environmental Quality on July 31, 2026. The North Dakota Petroleum Council thanked him for his decades of public service and recognized his leadership, integrity, and commitment to North Dakota with its Outstanding Public Servant Award.

2026

MIKE LEFOR

Mike Lefor represented District 37 in Dickinson as a member of the North Dakota House of Representatives for more than a decade. During his legislative career, he held several leadership positions, including Majority Caucus Chair and chair of the House Industry, Business and Labor Committee, before serving as House Majority Leader during the 2023 and 2025 legislative sessions. He also served on Legislative Management and a number of other legislative committees.

Lefor’s leadership on the House Industry, Business and Labor Committee was an important part of his legislative service. Over the years, the committee addressed significant issues affecting North Dakota’s business climate, including workforce programs, workers’ compensation, insurance, and other policies affecting employers and employees. Lefor brought his extensive business background to the role as he worked with fellow legislators and stakeholders on issues affecting businesses across the state.

Lefor was elected House Majority Leader for the 2023 and 2025 legislative sessions, placing him in a key leadership position within the House Republican caucus. During his time in leadership, the Legislature considered and approved measures involving taxes, infrastructure, energy research, economic development, and other issues affecting North Dakota businesses and residents.

Throughout his legislative career, Lefor worked closely with North Dakota’s oil and natural gas industry and represented the interests of western North Dakota. He supported legislation addressing industry taxation and energy research and was involved in policy discussions affecting oil and natural gas development. His years of service coincided with a period of significant growth and change for North Dakota’s energy industry and the communities of western North Dakota.

Lefor brought decades of private-sector experience to his public service. A graduate of Dickinson State University, he worked in his family business, DCI Credit Services, Inc., and later became president of Blackridge Enterprises LLC. His community involvement also included service as president of the Dickinson Park Board, chairman of CHI St. Joseph Hospital, a member of the Dickinson City Commission, and chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Long before his service in the Legislature, Lefor had established himself as a business and community leader in Dickinson. That experience provided a foundation for his years in public office and eventually his role as House Majority Leader.

As Lefor prepared to conclude his legislative service, the North Dakota Petroleum Council recognized his years of leadership, his work on issues important to western North Dakota, and his longstanding engagement with the state’s oil and natural gas industry.

2025

KENT ELLIS

The North Dakota Petroleum Council would like to honor an extraordinary champion of energy education, Kent Ellis, for his remarkable 23 years of dedication, innovation, and leadership. 

Kent’s journey in the energy industry began in 1980 as a contract petroleum landman in the Williston Basin. Over the decades, he has worn many hats: teacher with Bismarck Public Schools, regional School-to-Work Coordinator, North Dakota Energy Career Awareness Coordinator, and ultimately the driving force behind the Tools, Trades, Torque, Tech—better known as the T4 Summits. 

Since 2002, Kent has led and expanded outreach efforts for the North Dakota Petroleum Council, organizing the Teacher Education Seminar and coordinating programs that introduced thousands of students, educators, and parents to career opportunities in the oil and gas industry. His programs reached an average of 7,000 students annually, engaging students in grades 5 through 12—and even higher education—with hands-on activities that covered geology, drilling, refining, transportation, and reclamation. 

Through the ND Energy Career Awareness Partnership and T4, Kent created experiences that helped students connect the dots between school and career. His inventive approach—complete with activities like the Gas Plant Gizmo, Drilling Game, and Pipeline Construction Project—has inspired curiosity and built real-world skills across North Dakota classrooms. 

Kent’s leadership extended beyond the classroom. He served on numerous advisory boards, from the Governor’s Youth Development Council to Bismarck State College’s Petroleum Engineering Technology Advisory Council, shaping workforce development and ensuring the energy industry’s future is bright. 

Kent is not only an educator and leader; he’s also a lifelong learner and an avid—if self-described ‘extremely slow’—bicycle road racer. His perseverance on the bike trails mirrors the consistency and dedication he’s shown throughout his career. 

Kent, was the first recipient of the Distinguished Industry Leader Award in 2006—a recognition that remains as well-deserved today as it was then. He has helped shape an entire generation of energy leaders, leaving an indelible mark on our industry and our communities. 

On behalf of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, the energy sector, and countless students and educators whose lives you’ve touched, we congratulate Kent on 23 incredible years of advancing energy education. His legacy will inspire others for decades to come.