Executive advisory · community strategy · regional partnerships

Every community
has a story.

Building the next chapter together.

For more than three decades, I have worked alongside communities, Tribal Nations, nonprofits, healthcare systems, businesses, and governments to turn complex challenges into lasting partnerships and measurable results.

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The story behind the work

The next chapter begins with listening.

Wirkebau Consulting works alongside communities, governments, Tribal Nations, nonprofit organizations, and private-sector partners to turn complex challenges into practical pathways for progress.

The work begins by listening, builds through trust, and ends with clear next steps people can own and implement.

Behind every strategy is a conversation

Real places. Real people. Work built together.

Community housing workshop wish list covered with participant ideas — **Listen.** Capture priorities, barriers, and ideas in the community's own words.

Una Wirkebau and community partners during a site visit — **Understand.** See the place, meet the partners, and connect strategy to local realities.

Una Wirkebau with Tribal community partners — **Build trust.** Create relationships strong enough to carry the work forward.

Areas of impact

Building stronger communities through strategy, partnerships, and implementation.

Housing & Community Development

Regional and employer-led approaches that connect housing supply, workforce needs, infrastructure, and long-term community well-being.

Public–Private Partnerships

Collaborative structures that bring government, business, nonprofits, funders, and community leaders together around shared outcomes.

Regional Economic Resilience

Practical strategies that strengthen local economies, attract investment, diversify opportunity, and prepare communities for change.

Rural & Tribal Communities

Culturally conscious partnerships that honor local knowledge, strengthen self-determination, and support resilient community futures.

Infrastructure & Capital Investment

Connecting priorities, partners, funding, and implementation to advance critical projects with lasting local value.

Tourism & Destination Development

Responsible destination strategies that strengthen local economies while protecting the places, stories, and character that matter.

Place shapes possibility

“The best strategies do not arrive fully formed. They are built from local knowledge, honest conversation, and shared commitment.”

Communities that drive change

Experience measured in places moved forward.

From rural communities and island economies to downtowns and multi-county regions, every engagement is shaped around local priorities, trusted relationships, and practical outcomes.

Washington

Monroe & Snohomish County

Downtown revitalization · business recruitment · tourism · community identity

Arizona

Winslow

Economic development · public-private partnerships · destination development · community momentum

Pacific Northwest

Olympic Peninsula

Regional collaboration · workforce access · economic resilience · stakeholder engagement

Utah

Southeast Utah

Regional housing strategy · workforce housing · employer partnerships · implementation

30+Years of community and economic development leadership

$500M+In investment and development projects advanced

MultipleStates and U.S. territories served

TogetherPublic, private, Tribal, nonprofit, and community partnerships

The story behind the work

Decades of experience. A practical way of working.

Una Wirkebau is an executive advisor and community strategist whose career spans economic development, housing, tourism, redevelopment, workforce, infrastructure, and public-private partnerships.

Her work has taken her from small rural towns to metropolitan regions and international settings—always grounded in the belief that meaningful change begins with listening.

“Listen first. Build together. Deliver results.”

Download Una's CV →

Start a conversation

Is your community ready to write its next chapter?

Let's begin with a conversation.

wirkebau@me.com +1 206 475 7005 LinkedIn

Every communityhas a story.