About the Speaker - John McLeod was raised in St. Louis, Missouri, where he developed an early interest in fossils and geology from Mississippian chert and limestone found at his rural home. This childhood interest eventually led to an M.S. in geology from Northern Illinois University and a career focused on petroleum geoscience (with side endeavors in hydrogeology and computer-oriented geology). In pursuit of a geological career, he has lived in six states and moved 13 times. From 2015 until 2020 he served as the company geochemist for SM Energy in Denver and is now an independent geoscience consultant. With Mark McKinzie, he co-authored the reference book "Color Guide to Pennsylvanian Fossils of North Texas." John works in partnership with professional paleontologists, most recently with Dr. Royal Mapes on Pennsylvanian lagerstätte preserved in black shale phosphate nodules from northeast Oklahoma. He is the namesake of the recently described Grafordites mcleodi Niko and Mapes 2019, a Pennsylvanian straight cephalopod of uncertain affinities. John has dual residences in Denver where he sometimes works and Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he otherwise lives with his wife Mary and two elderly boxer dogs (Pinky and Sam).