Stephen N. Cassin, AICP, President

Cassin Planning Group (CPG) is led by Steve Cassin who has over 45 years of public sector experience in land use planning, economic development, and community development. He earned a Bachelor's Degree in Urban Planning from Michigan State University and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Oakland University. He is a certified planner with the American Institute of Certified Planners, a member of the American Planning Association (Michigan Association of Planning - MAP), and the Michigan Economic Developer's Association.

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Steve served as the Executive Director of the Macomb County Department of Planning and Economic Development, where he directed the county’s efforts in land use planning, business retention & attraction, GIS & mapping, land & water resources, and marketing & communications.

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Steve also spent 24 years with the Charter Township of Clinton, overseeing the township’s planning, zoning, and community development efforts during a time period when the population of the community grew from 60,000 to nearly 100,000 residents.

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Steve is a Past President of the Michigan Society of Planning Officials (N.K.A. Michigan Association of Planning), and a former Adjunct Instructor at Oakland University, where he taught Community Planning and Zoning at the graduate level. He also teaches for Michigan State University’s Extension Service – Citizen Planner Program.  He was a governor appointee to the Michigan Finance Authority, and a Detroit Mayoral appointee to the Greater Detroit Foreign Trade Zone Board.

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Karen LaVere, AICP, Principal Planner

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Karen LaVere has been a planner since 2014 and has held planning-related positions for nearly 10 years.  Before joining Cassin Planning Group, Karen had experience working in municipal recreation and building departments, was a project coordinator for an architecture and engineering firm, served as a transportation planner, and was a planning consultant for a private planning and engineering firm.

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Karen obtained her certification from the American Institute of Certified Planners and is a member of the Michigan Association of Planning.