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Genesis Consulting Group’s founding members consist of president James R. Morris, Jr. – a distinguished leader in the economic and industrial development field – and principals J. Edward Schooler, PE, David K. Brandes, PE, and A. Carroll Barker – three well established engineering professionals with specialties in water/sewer system engineering, environmental engineering, site civil engineering, and hydraulic/hydrologic engineering. The firm’s total staff includes 5 registered professional engineers (including a LEED® accredited professional); 1 senior engineer; 3 designers/technicians; 2 senior planners/economic development specialists; and full-time support staff for marketing, accounting, and office management and administration functions.
James R. Morris, Jr., Ed.D.
Dr. Morris is president and one of the co-founders of Genesis Consulting Group, with responsibility for overall direction and management of the firm. He further provides executive-level oversight, project management, strategic planning, and economic development expertise for the firm’s various planning contracts.
Over his 45+ year professional career, Dr. Morris has become a distinguished and recognized leader in the education, economic development, and industrial development fields. He has been an active participant with South Carolina Governors Campbell, Beasley, and Hodges and the South Carolina Department of Commerce in recruiting new business investment both nationally and internationally. In his most recent role before co-founding Genesis Consulting Group, Dr. Morris served as a senior vice president with Wilbur Smith Associates and was responsible for the firm’s infrastructure and facilities group. Prior to joining Wilbur Smith Associates, Dr. Morris served as the chief of staff for the South Carolina Department of Commerce where he was instrumental in all facets of South Carolina’s industrial recruitment and economic development. Prior to his role at the Commerce Department, Dr. Morris was previously the executive vice president of the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance and the first executive director of the Central Carolina Economic Development Alliance (now known as the Central SC Alliance).
Dr. Morris received both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from Mississippi College and a doctoral degree in higher education from the University of Southern Mississippi. His experience in the education field has included teaching at the elementary, secondary, and college level. His various leadership roles include: high school principal, assistant superintendent for a city school district, community college academic dean, president of two of South Carolina’s technical colleges (Midlands Technical College and Central Carolina Technical College), and executive director of the South Carolina State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education
David K. Brandes, PE
Mr. Brandes is a principal and co-founder of Genesis Consulting Group and directs the firm’s site development services for both public- and private-sector clients. In this role, Mr. Brandes provides the appropriate executive-level oversight and corporate commitment for the firm’s professional staff and functions as a resource for the strategic direction of master planning, strategic planning, economic development, and site engineering efforts.
Mr. Brandes holds a BS in mechanical engineering from Clemson University and is a registered professional engineer in South Carolina. He possesses more than 20 years of technical experience in infrastructure planning, site development, and community development initiatives. These initiatives have included services for community redevelopments/revitalizations, industrial/business parks, transportation facilities, manufacturing facilities, recreational facilities (including streetscape and pedestrian/bikeway trails), educational facilities, office complexes, retail/wholesale facilities, and residential/mixed-use housing developments. Mr. Brandes further possesses extensive experience in utility design (including water, sewer, and other facilities), as well as designs for highways, access roads, sidewalks and pathways, rail lines, and rail spurs. Prior to co-founding Genesis Consulting Group, Mr. Brandes had been an employee with Wilbur Smith Associates since 1987. He most recently had served as a vice president and director of the firm’s site development division with responsibility for the firm’s traditional civil engineering/planning work and economic development efforts.
J. Edward Schooler, PE
Mr. Schooler is a principal and co-founder of Genesis Consulting Group and directs the firm’s municipal engineering services for both public- and private-sector clients. In this role, he provides executive-level oversight and technical expertise for all of the firm’s water and wastewater projects for public utilities and private industries. Mr. Schooler is a registered professional engineer and a certified wastewater treatment plant operator in South Carolina with over 30 years of experience in civil and environmental engineering. He holds a BS in civil engineering from the University of South Carolina and is active in multiple industry organizations. Mr. Schooler’s specific technical expertise includes significant experience managing projects within the following technical areas: water treatment facilities; water booster pump stations; water transmission and distribution systems; wastewater treatment facilities; wastewater collection systems; major wastewater pump stations; industrial waste projects; environmental compliance plans; air quality projects; GPS/GIS databases; facilities planning studies; and financial planning studies.
Prior to co-founding Genesis Consulting Group, Mr. Schooler was most recently a vice president and director of Wilbur Smith Associates’ municipal services division. Before then, he served for more than 10 years as a program manager for industrial services, and as a senior project manager for municipal and environmental engineering services, with B.P. Barber & Associates, Inc. Prior to then, Mr. Schooler gained an additional 18 years of industry experience with several firms in the Columbia, SC, area.
A. Carroll Barker, Sr.
Mr. Barker is a principal and co-founder of Genesis Consulting Group and directs the firm’s water resources services for both public- and private-sector clients. In this role, he provides corporate commitment for individual water resources projects, in addition to performing various hydraulic/hydrologic tasks. Mr. Barker possesses over 28 years of experience in water resources engineering and holds a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of South Carolina. Over his career, he has gained extensive hands-on experience in hydraulic/hydrologic system engineering and design. Mr. Barker’s specific areas of expertise include project management, storm water management, BMP design, floodplain analysis/design, hydrologic analysis, and computer modeling. Other specialties include reservoir operational modeling, dam break and flood forecasting modeling, probable maximum precipitation computation, watershed management, drainage/culvert design, and coastal flooding and hurricane storm surge modeling.
Prior to co-founding the firm, Mr. Barker served as vice president and director of Wilbur Smith Associates’ water resources division. In that role, his experience included numerous storm water management plan and design projects throughout South Carolina and Georgia. Previous to then, Mr. Barker also held positions with Piedmont Olsen Hensley, as well as Post Buckley Schuh and Jernigan, Inc., and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). In 2007, Mr. Barker served on the Board of Directors (Member-at-Large) of the South Carolina Association of Stormwater Managers (SCASM). |
