Mr. Settles is an owner and Managing Principal of Grounded Engineering Services, LLC and has served in the role of Principal since inception in July 2012. Mr. Settles has primarily been tasked with the development of Geotechnical Engineering, Environmental, and Construction Materials Testing and Engineering divisions starting from the ground up.
In his career, Mr. Settles has worked on multiple projects, generally in the southeast, including commercial, multi-‐story commercial, retail, residential, communications, industrial, and multi-‐family residential. Mr. Settles has built his career and new firm around the singular focus of “Client Service”. It has become apparent that throughout his career the return clients he has developed praise the ability to find solutions that do not require extensive investments in time or money but that provide sound engineering solutions to the normal issues involved with development and particularly re-‐ development of existing sites. Through this mentality of “Client Services” Mr. Settles has developed a vast group of trusting clients, many of which, prefer not to bid work but rather negotiate to ensure that Mr. Settles is involved with their project.
Prior to starting Grounded Engineering Services, LLC., Mr. Settles has provided leadership and management in the development of Geotechnical Engineering, Environmental, and Construction Materials Testing and Engineering divisions for both FOCUS Development & Engineering, Inc. and RKS Green Consulting Group, LLC.
Charles D. Edwards, E.I.T. (Charlie) has been a part of GROUNDED’s team since 2017. At GROUNDED, Charlie has had a role in various Geotechnical Engineering and Construction Materials Testing projects through field activities, project engineering, and project management.
As a Project Engineer, Mr. Edwards is consistently working with clients to provide feasible and cost-effective geotechnical engineering solutions through services such as geotechnical assessments, retaining wall design, slope stability analysis, sub-surface remediation, etc. Mr. Edwards’ responsibilities include proposal generation, site meetings, data analysis, engineering design, final report generation, etc.
Mr. Edwards is a 2017 graduate of the University of Mississippi where he received a Bachelor of Science in Geological Engineering.
Stanley Winston Hayes (“Winston”) joined GROUNDED’s team in 2018 and serves as a Staff Engineer concentrating in Geotechnical Consulting Services. Mr. Hayes is responsible for managing and performing Geotechnical Engineering assessments as well as compilation of various engineering reports, design of septic systems, managing grading sites, proposal generation and engineer drafting.
Mr. Hayes has been in the Engineering field since 2017. He also has various roles in Construction Material Testing projects and manages site meetings with clients and their contractors. For the eight years prior to his entry into the Engineering field, Mr. Hayes managed asphalt paving projects at retail, commercial, and residential properties throughout the southeast.
Mr. Hayes received his education from Mississippi State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 2017
Virginia M. Holland (“Ginney”) joined GROUNDED in 2014 and currently serves as the Environmental Services Manager concentrating in Environmental Consulting Services. Ms. Holland is responsible for managing and conducting site investigations, such as Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs), historical site use research, Georgia Brownfield applications, corrective action plans, site remediation, and compliance status reports. Ms. Holland also aids clients with regulatory communications and compliance.
Throughout her nineteen years in the environmental consulting industry, Ms. Holland has performed numerous environmental site investigations on rural and undeveloped properties as well as retail, commercial, industrial and residential properties throughout the southeast and other parts of the country.
Ms. Holland works intentionally to do the job right the first time. She seeks to build relationships with GROUNDED’s clients and their business partners in an effort to understand the needs of their projects for efficient and effective problem solving and project completion.
Pamela Kinney joined GROUNDED in 2016 as a part time Administrative Assistant and currently serves full time as Administrative Manager. With over 25 years of experience in professional office executive positions and a track record of strong performance in high-volume, high-pressure environments, Pam skillfully manages administrative duties at GROUNDED. Pam efficiently handles the overall coordination of a broad range of services/resources to include the daily oversight of accounts payable & receivable working closely with Owner/Principal Christopher Settles & CFO Robert Settles.
Mr. Settles is an owner and Managing Principal of Grounded Engineering Services, LLC and has served in the role of Principal since inception in July 2012. Mr. Settles has primarily been tasked with the development of Geotechnical Engineering, Environmental, and Construction Materials Testing and Engineering divisions starting from the ground up.
In his career, Mr. Settles has worked on multiple projects, generally in the southeast, including commercial, multi-‐story commercial, retail, residential, communications, industrial, and multi-‐family residential. Mr. Settles has built his career and new firm around the singular focus of “Client Service”. It has become apparent that throughout his career the return clients he has developed praise the ability to find solutions that do not require extensive investments in time or money but that provide sound engineering solutions to the normal issues involved with development and particularly re-‐ development of existing sites. Through this mentality of “Client Services” Mr. Settles has developed a vast group of trusting clients, many of which, prefer not to bid work but rather negotiate to ensure that Mr. Settles is involved with their project.
Prior to starting Grounded Engineering Services, LLC., Mr. Settles has provided leadership and management in the development of Geotechnical Engineering, Environmental, and Construction Materials Testing and Engineering divisions for both FOCUS Development & Engineering, Inc. and RKS Green Consulting Group, LLC.
Virginia M. Holland (“Ginney”) joined GROUNDED in 2014 and currently serves as the Environmental Services Manager concentrating in Environmental Consulting Services. Ms. Holland is responsible for managing and conducting site investigations, such as Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs), historical site use research, Georgia Brownfield applications, corrective action plans, site remediation, and compliance status reports. Ms. Holland also aids clients with regulatory communications and compliance.
Throughout her nineteen years in the environmental consulting industry, Ms. Holland has performed numerous environmental site investigations on rural and undeveloped properties as well as retail, commercial, industrial and residential properties throughout the southeast and other parts of the country.
Ms. Holland works intentionally to do the job right the first time. She seeks to build relationships with GROUNDED’s clients and their business partners in an effort to understand the needs of their projects for efficient and effective problem solving and project completion.
Pamela Kinney joined GROUNDED in 2016 as a part time Administrative Assistant and currently serves full time as Administrative Manager. With over 25 years of experience in professional office executive positions and a track record of strong performance in high-volume, high-pressure environments, Pam skillfully manages administrative duties at GROUNDED. Pam efficiently handles the overall coordination of a broad range of services/resources to include the daily oversight of accounts payable & receivable working closely with Owner/Principal Christopher Settles & CFO Robert Settles.
Charles D. Edwards, E.I.T. (Charlie) has been a part of GROUNDED’s team since 2017. At GROUNDED, Charlie has had a role in various Geotechnical Engineering and Construction Materials Testing projects through field activities, project engineering, and project management.
As a Project Engineer, Mr. Edwards is consistently working with clients to provide feasible and cost-effective geotechnical engineering solutions through services such as geotechnical assessments, retaining wall design, slope stability analysis, sub-surface remediation, etc. Mr. Edwards’ responsibilities include proposal generation, site meetings, data analysis, engineering design, final report generation, etc.
Mr. Edwards is a 2017 graduate of the University of Mississippi where he received a Bachelor of Science in Geological Engineering.
Jeffrey K. Smitherman (“Jeff”) joined GROUNDED in 2019 and currently serves as the Construction Materials Operation Manager. Jeff is responsible for managing the construction materials testing (CMT) division of GROUNDED, overseeing the CMT team, and the scheduling of various site-work.
Jeff arrived at GROUNDED after acquiring more than thirteen years of management experience at a major nationwide retailer. He has managed numerous associates, store locations, and various teams throughout the southeast.
Jeff strives for an efficient and streamlined work experience to ensure that all stakeholders are poised for growth. Jeff seeks to exceed client’s expectations by building a team that is dedicated to courtesy and accuracy.
Stanley Winston Hayes (“Winston”) joined GROUNDED’s team in 2018 and serves as a Staff Engineer concentrating in Geotechnical Consulting Services. Mr. Hayes is responsible for managing and performing Geotechnical Engineering assessments as well as compilation of various engineering reports, design of septic systems, managing grading sites, proposal generation and engineer drafting.
Mr. Hayes has been in the Engineering field since 2017. He also has various roles in Construction Material Testing projects and manages site meetings with clients and their contractors. For the eight years prior to his entry into the Engineering field, Mr. Hayes managed asphalt paving projects at retail, commercial, and residential properties throughout the southeast.
Mr. Hayes received his education from Mississippi State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 2017
