Bio
Ms. Chris Strasser is a consulting ecologist and landscape architect, with more than 10 years of experience. She has a strong background in design, graphic representation, and ecology, specializing in site planning, urban ecological design, and construction document preparation. Ms. Strasser has a broad-scale understanding of human use and ecological issues with a keen ability to create human-scale spaces that allow people and nature to gracefully coexist.
Ms. Strasser manages and contributes to a range of projects, from large-scale master planning to site-specific design and construction documentation. She develops high-quality graphics that clearly communicate design intent and technical details to broad audiences, and facilitates successful outreach to community groups, NGOs, project regulators, and our clients to build consensus and project buy-in. In addition, her organization and management skills foster efficient and successful collaboration on complex, multidisciplinary projects with large project teams.
Prior to joining Integral Consulting, Ms. Strasser was an associate landscape architect at H. T. Harvey & Associates where she worked for 13 years.
Relevant Experience
Landscape Architecture
Lake Cunningham Park Wetland Design Development, San Jose, California — Serves as project manager and landscape architect. The project aims to improve water quality and enhance user experience at Lake Cunningham Park. H. T. Harvey works with a hydrology firm to analyze existing conditions, opportunities, and constraints, and assess the feasibility of nature-based water quality interventions. The project team is currently developing a conceptual site plan for the park.
Shuttle Stop and Plaza Design Project, Sunnyvale, California — Acts as project manager and landscape architect for a shuttle stop and food truck plaza. Collaborates closely with the client, design-build contractor, and design team to meet an aggressive timeline, and to create a vibrant, flexible plaza space while responding to multiple spatial constraints.
I-80 Westbound Cordelia Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Facility Project, Solano County, California — Serves as project manager and landscape architect. This project includes design and construction documentation of pedestrian spaces associated with the new, expanded commercial vehicle enforcement facility, as well as extensive native planting designed to maintain and enhance the rural character of the transportation corridor.
Alum Rock Park Vegetation Management Plan, San Jose, California — Collaborates with restoration ecologists, other landscape architects, and the City of San Jose to develop a Vegetation Management Plan for Alum Rock Park. Facilitated two community outreach meetings to solicit feedback on the plan, which is in draft form.
Port of Oakland Seaport Design, Oakland, California — Served as project manager. Developed a conceptual design for planting and irrigation, to be used by the Port of Oakland and a design-build contractor for installation.
Bolinas Eucalyptus Project Habitat Design, Marin County, California — Served as project manager and landscape architect. Helped steer the community and Bolinas Public Utility District through the feasibility, design, local coastal permit issues primarily related to an Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Area for the monarch butterfly, and County of Marin permit applications for the removal of a eucalyptus grove, which poses threats to critical infrastructure and public safety.
Alta Parking Garage Design, Mountain View, California — Assisted with the development of design concepts and construction documents for a parking structure and greenway project. The project included a multi-use trail, custom decking and seating, irrigation, and native planting.
Sunnyvale West Channel Enhancement Project, Sunnyvale, California — Served as lead landscape designer for the concept and schematic design phases of the project. This project created a widened channel with connected floodplain and vegetated levees while enhancing pedestrian connectivity across the West Channel. It required extensive coordination with design partners and the Santa Clara Valley Water District.
Highway I/9 Intersection Mitigation Project, Santa Cruz, California — Served as the project manager and lead landscape designer. This project involved mitigation planning and construction document preparation, including tree impacts, irrigation, and planting. Project development required collaboration with our restoration ecology team to ensure that the mitigation and monitoring plan and construction documentation aligned.
Charleston Retention Basin Habitat Improvement Project, Mountain View, California — Acted as lead landscape designer and provided construction support for a unique public-private effort to enhance habitat and improve circulation around and across the Charleston retention basin. The project featured a separated pedestrian and bicycle facility–including bridges, boardwalks, and an educational ecological interpretive program, as well as habitat restoration and marsh creation to enhance the habitats of several sensitive species.
Tech Corners Bike Improvement Project, Sunnyvale, California — Served as lead landscape designer and project manager for a bike and pedestrian improvement project. In collaboration with a prime consultant, this project included a feasibility study that led to detailed design, with the goal of providing safe, public, and multimodal connections between transit stops, places of work, and open spaces.
Green Loop Public Access and Habitat Enhancement Project, Mountain View, California — Provided ecological and landscape support for the project. This project created a separated bike and pedestrian midblock thoroughfare that spanned several city blocks, feeding users onto the path at each intersection. The project incorporated pedestrian- and bicycle-oriented improvements, stormwater management, and habitat restoration and ecological enhancements for urban wildlife.
Upper Llagas Creek Flood Protection Project, Morgan Hill, California — Contributed landscape design to various phases of the project. Drafted the conceptual design for the wetland creation at Lake Silveira. Assisted with preparation of plans, specifications and estimates for the habitat restoration of 108 acres of riparian habitat and a 4-acre wetland complex at Lake Silviera as part of this Santa Clara Valley Water District and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood protection project covering 14 miles of Upper Llagas Creek.
Parks and Trails
Dawit Zeleke Memorial Avian Viewing Platform Design, Thornton, California — Serves as lead landscape architect and project manager. This project provides a formal viewing area for users wishing to see the Sandhill cranes that use the site in the winter, alleviating congestion on the main roadway while honoring the work and legacy of former The Nature Conservancy staffer Dawit Zeleke, who contributed to the implementation of wildlife friendly agricultural practices in the Delta.
Sunnyvale East Channel Trail Project, Sunnyvale, California — Manages the design, construction document preparation, and construction support for several segments of a pedestrian and bicycle facility. The initial phase of this project included collaborating with a team of engineers, planners, and designers on a set of Design Guidelines that would inform all trail segments. The facility runs through confined urban areas and includes the installation of a bike and pedestrian bridge over a channel owned by Santa Clara Valley Water District, requiring close coordination with regulatory agencies and Valley Water.
Bay Rise Park Project, Burlingame, California — Provides design support and quality control review of construction documents for a new 9-acre waterfront nature-based park and education center with an emphasis on sea level rise and climate change. Park features include a section of the San Francico Bay Trail and water access with a new stop on the Water Trail. H. T. Harvey led efforts to receive State Lands Commission approval, develop feasibility and concept studies, and ran public outreach and coordinated with stakeholders.
Bay Trail Design Guidelines Toolkit, San Francisco, California — Contributed landscape and ecological input and support for the Bay Trail Design Guidelines and Toolkit 2.0, a document that provides developers, design teams, public agencies, and others an overview of the goals and design principles specific to the Bay Trail. These general guidelines can be utilized by individual projects and jurisdictions as appropriate.
Guadalupe Oak Grove Park Project, San Jose, California — Led the public outreach, park and trail analysis, and signage and interpretive. In addition, assisted the City of San Jose in carrying forward their park management and action plans to protect natural resources and promote blue oak regeneration through direct park restoration efforts and volunteer coordination.
Pacific Flyway Center Project, Fairfield, California — Acted as project manager and landscape architect. The project will highlight the migratory birds that travel along the Pacific Flyway with an educational center and publicly accessible wetland complex. H. T. Harvey leads the landscape architectural design for the Center’s Walk in the Marsh, an 80-acre system of managed wetlands designed to maximize habitat value, optimize waterbird and shorebird use, and connect visitors to nature. This effort includes the development of an interpretive plan, wayfinding signage, trail layout, and habitat creation, as well as coordination with the project’s permitting coordinator for USACE and CDFW permits.
Bay Trail and Bicycle, Pedestrian, Parking, and Shuttle Transit Circulation Projects, Menlo Park, California — Served as landscape designer. This work included improvements to user experiences along nearly 1 mile of the Bay Trail, in-campus improvements, and regional connections providing safe and legible transportation design for people who bike, walk, drive, and take buses and shuttles. The project included the use of sustainable materials, stormwater capture, pervious paving, native planting, and ecological design to support urban wildlife habitats.
Education & Credentials
Highlights
More than 10 years of experience
Landscape design
Bike and pedestrian circulation
Urban ecology
Park and open space design
Graphic representation and communication
Community engagement
Education & Credentials
MLA, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 2013
B.S., Political Science and International Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, 2000
Registered Landscape Architect California #6408
Professional Experience
Associate landscape architect, H. T. Harvey & Associates, 2013–July 2026
Student researcher and consultant, Traverse City Planning Department, 2012–2013
Graduate student instructor and grader, University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment, 2011–2012