He has also practiced law in Washington, D.C., as an attorney for the Environmental and Natural Resources Division of the United States Department of Justice.
At the time of his appointment in 2003, Tolbert was the president-elect of the Oklahoma Bar Association's environmental law section and a member of the Crowe & Dunlevy, an Oklahoma City-based law firm.
[1] On January 10, 2003, Governor of Oklahoma-elect Brad Henry announced that he would appoint Tolbert to serve as his Secretary of the Environment.
As the Secretary, Tolbert was charged with the protection and enhancement of Oklahoma's environment and natural resources through preservation, conservation, restoration, education and enforcement in order to maintain and improve the environmental quality and natural beauty of our state and better the standard of living for all Oklahomans.
In August, 2008, Tolbert resigned as Secretary in order to return to private practice.