Earth Retention Systems

Chad is the founder of Earth Retention Systems (ERS) and Clark Geotechnical. He has 22 years of experience in the design and construction of earth retention structures and geotechnical engineering.

Chad is currently licensed in 25 states and has extensive experience throughout the U.S. He has supervised the design and construction of over 10 million square feet of earth retention systems consisting of segmental block, reinforced slope, MSE precast concrete panel, cast in place concrete, soldier pile, tie-back, soil nail, and sheet pile walls.

Prior to forming ERS & Clark Geotechnical, Chad held several prominent positions at geotechnical engineering firms, geosynthetic manufacturing companies and design build retaining wall construction firms.

Chad is a 1994 graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology with a Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering.

Lance has a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), and is a registered Professional Engineer. He has more than 25 years of experience in the design, specification, and application of earth retention structures, with emphasis on segmental retaining wall and geosynthetic reinforced soil technology. Lance is an active member within ASTM International and the National Concrete Masonry Association (NCMA) focusing on the development of standards and design methodologies beneficial to the advancement of geosynthetic materials and earth retention structures. Lance is former NCMA SRW Technical Subcommittee Chair, and current NCMA Limit Equilibrium Design Method Task Group Chair.

Matt graduated from Virginia Tech in 2001 with a B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Before joining ERS, he worked at the Reinforced Earth Company (RECo) for 4.5 years as a Design Engineer and Regional Engineer, performing and managing designs of MSE retaining wall structures for heavy highway and railway applications across the country.
After leaving RECo, Matt worked at GeoStructures, Inc. (GSI), a specialty design-build contractor, for 11 years as a Senior Engineer and Director of Engineering. At GSI he was involved in the design and construction of rammed aggregate pier, rigid inclusions, helical anchor, pile, and drilled shaft foundation systems for settlement control and slope stability. Matt was also involved in the development of in-house design software, estimating spreadsheets, department standards, and MSE wall technical packages for state DOT product approvals.

Matt is a licensed professional engineer in 8 states, including VA, MD, DC, NC, NY, NJ, DE, OH, and a member of ASCE.