Meet the Planners

CSA Planning, Ltd. was originally founded as Craig A. Stone & Associates, Ltd. in 1980 and operated under that name until 2007. Raul Woerner and Jay Harland joined the firm as partners in 2004 and 2005 and changed the name to CSA Planning, Ltd. Mike Savage joined the firm in 2008 and became a partner in 2020. Throughout its 35 year history, CSA has undertaken more than 1,800 projects of virtually all types and sizes, either as planners and project managers or simply to acquire land use permits. CSA now exists as one of the largest land planning firms in Oregon and the largest between Redding and Portland and offers a full complement of support consultants from the best firms in Oregon that provide expertise in all areas of land use permitting and analysis.

Raul Woerner, Principal

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Mr. Woerner joined CSA Planning in 2004 as a partner and is the general manager of land use planning and consulting. He brings extensive experience and insights to each project from his work as a senior planner for Jackson County and his years managing businesses in California, Nevada and Arizona. Raul assists private and public sector clients with defining and developing their projects. Mr. Woerner has extensive expertise in coordinating the multitude of agencies involved in the design review and permitting of complex projects in Oregon. Mr. Woerner’s business management background also serves clients with valuable insights into the financial challenges often associated with complex land development projects. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Oregon. He was a US Army quartermaster in the 7th Infantry Division of the 15th FA in Fort Ord, California. Born in Dorado, Puerto Rico, Mr. Woerner has lived in Washington, Oregon, Texas, South Carolina, California, Arizona and Nevada. He was principal in charge of Regional Problem Solving, Oregon’s first 50-year growth plan. He’s a member of the Medford Rotary Club and serves on the land use action committee for the Chamber of Medford/Jackson County.

Jay Harland, Principal

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Jay Harland is a partner and principal planner with CSA Planning, joining the firm in 2004. He has extensive experience in public and private sector land use and transportation planning and an in-depth knowledge of the public review process.  Jay provides solid technical and practical management for a wide variety of land use and transportation projects.  He has experience with long-range planning projects that often involve complex land use, public facilities and statistical research and analyses. Jay is proficient in technical analyses that involve statistical, mathematical models and GIS.  Jay has been the principal-in-charge of numerous projects that include Goal 5 aggregate projects, comprehensive plan updates for local governments, Statewide Planning Goal Exceptions, UGB Amendments, development ordinance writing, and a wide variety of land development permit actions.

Before CSA Planning, Jay worked as a transportation planner and managed the Jackson County Transportation System Plan project.  He holds an undergraduate degree in Philosophy and a Master’s degree in Geography from the University of Montana.

He is vice-chair of the Jackson County Economic Development Advisory Committee. He is a past chair of the Chamber of Medford Jackson County.  Jay is past president of the Rogue Valley Foundation for the Chamber of Medford Jackson County.  Jay is an avid outdoorsman.  Jay was born and raised in Bozeman, Montana and spends an inordinate amount of his nonwork time chasing powder stashes and corn snow in the Southern Oregon backcountry .  In summer, Jay will be found wavesailing on the Southern Oregon Coast or in the Gorge on windy weekends and will be fly fishing or mountain biking on windless weekends with the occasional sailboat race thrown in.  He is past commodore of the Rogue Yacht Club.  He also served on the board of Medford Rogue Rotary from 2015-2017.  Jay’s wife Elysia enjoys live music and “makes” him go to Britt and other musical shows in the region in his “spare time”.

Michael Savage, Principal

Michael Savage is a partner and principal planner with experience tackling a wide range of land-use and development projects. Mike’s experience and thorough understanding of the Oregon land-use system helps him see projects efficiently navigate through the entitlement process from inception through construction. Mike has been integral to many private and public sector projects. Mike also has a specialty in complex GIS land-use analysis and cartography. His unique expertise with major spatial and geodatabase management compliments the highly experienced CSA Planning, Ltd. team.

Before he came to CSA in 2008, Mike was a ten-year member with Jackson County Planning and Development Services, working as a land-use planner, GIS programmer analyst and permit-tracking system administrator. He brings to the land use planning and development profession a range of experience, including working as a recreation specialist and biologist assistant for the Klamath National Forest, retail service, operating and maintaining heavy equipment, farming and ranching and volunteer for youth sports. Mike holds a bachelor’s degree in geography from Southern Oregon University. Born and raised near the Blue Mountains in northeastern Oregon, Mike is an avid outdoorsman. He is on the RVACT, Medford Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the Oregon Hunters Association and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. He enjoys time with family and friends hunting, hiking, riding ATVs, restoring his classic bronco and working on his 80 acres. He and his wife Lucia have two children, Courtney and Cameron.

Bev Thruston, AIA

Bev Thruston joined CSA Planning in 2007 as an Associate Planner.  In addition to her 10 years of experience as a land use planner with CSA, she offers over 20 years of architectural experience in the Rogue Valley, San Francisco, and New York City. She has been an integral member of CSA, working on a wide variety of projects including the RPS plan, the Hillcrest District Plan, and the Phoenix-Talent School District Facilities Plan.  Her expertise in site design and planning is key to the success of the complicated land-use and development projects she manages.

Prior to CSA, Bev worked at architectural firms in Ashland, the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City. She was a partner for eight years in Thruston Design Group in Alameda, California.  Bev has extensive experience in the programming, planning and design of educational, commercial, recreational, and retail new and adaptive reuse projects.   She is experienced with multi-agency coordination and permitting, site planning and development, and consultant coordination.

Born in Berkeley and raised in the Bay area, Bev has lived in Michigan, Colorado, and New York. She earned a master’s degree in social science with a focus on research and urban planning from Chico State University. She holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Pratt Institute.  She is a board member and past president of the AIA Southern Oregon Chapter. Bev and her architect husband David have two daughters, Megan and Sophie.

Nathan Emerson

Nathan joined CSA’s team in October 2018 as an Associate Planner. Nathan is skilled in several analytic areas and often uses GIS and Excel to complete complex analytic tasks. Nathan has been the lead planner on several complex projects such as goal exceptions, transit planning reviews, and large-scale conditional use permits.

Before joining CSA, Nathan was previously employed in the Planning Department at the City of Ashland. Nathan has an undergraduate degree in Political Science from Linfield College and a Masters Degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Portland State University. Nathan is an avid cyclist. Nathan grew up in Talent, Oregon. He and his wife, Sarah, and son Fletcher recently completed a house in Talent.

Seth Adams

Seth joined CSA’s team in August 2020 as an Associate and works on a variety of both urban and rural projects, including zone changes, annexations, land divisions, site plan reviews, and farm and forest homesites.

Prior to joining CSA, Seth was employed by the City of Medford as a Planner III working on long-range planning projects and historic preservation, and prior to coming to Medford he worked as a planner for the cities of Redwood City, CA, and Dublin, CA.  He served four years on active-duty with the U.S. Marine Corps, and he holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Sacramento State University, and a Master’s in Urban Planning degree from San Jose State University.  Seth lives in Medford with his wife, Susana, and their two children.  In his spare time Seth enjoys playing golf whenever possible, and if not actually playing golf there is a good chance that he is daydreaming about it.

Elysia Harland, Controller & Assistant Planner

Elysia Harland is an assistant planner with experience in GIS map production, research and analysis.  She also has a background in business and accounting.  Her work experience includes being the Controller, for over six years, for a national professional association and before that a staff accountant at Kosmatka Donnelly & Co. LLP CPAs.  She holds a Master of Accountancy degree from the University of Montana. She enjoys going to the coast with her husband Jay.

Lori Hollis

Lori Hollis is Office Manager at CSA Planning Ltd. She has extensive experience managing the operation of professional offices in both the public and private sectors. She is knowledgeable about the needs of project budgeting. Lori serves as the hub for project portfolios, taking the writing and research work of planners and turning it into a professional presentation. She has 22 years’ experience in the real estate appraisal profession, working for Jackson County’s Assessor’s Office, where she became knowledgeable with the county mapping system. During her tenure with Roy Wright Appraisal Service, she trained employees, proofread and organized documents and photographed properties. Born in Long Beach, California, and raised in Lynwood, California, Lori has lived in the Rogue Valley since 1981.