Darryl Willis

Darryl Willis
Born	1969 (age 54–55)
Residence	Houston, Texas, United States
Nationality	American
Occupation	Vice President of resources of BP America

Darryl Keith Willis (born c. 1969) is an American geologist and publicist, currently Vice President of resources of BP America. He is head of Deepwater Horizon oil spill claims and public relations spokesperson for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Willis has appeared in many public relations advertisements clad in an orange shirt and has been featured in CNN's The Situation Room.

Willis grew up in Pontchartrain Park, New Orleans and graduated from McDonogh No. 35 Senior High School.

Willis graduated from Louisiana Scholars' College at Northwestern State University in 1991, received a Master of Science in Geology from the University of New Orleans and received a Master in Global Management and Public Policy from Stanford in 2007.

Willis married his wife Dawnia Tyrese Richard Willis on September 10, 2005, on Martha's Vineyard days after his mother Cora Hambrick Willis had lost her house in Hurricane Katrina.

Willis, a geologist by profession, said he was tapped for the volunteering after hearing BP executives discuss the plan. "Folks were talking about paying claims in 30 to 60 days...And I knew, being from Louisiana, that that was going to be about 30 days too long, and we needed to get people's claims paid as quickly as possible."

Willis said he was surprised by his profile position. "I actually took over this role assuming I would be tucked away in some office making sure systems and processes were working," he says.