W. Frank Newton
Founder and CEO

W. Frank Newton was appointed by President Jimmy Carter as FEMA's Director of the Southeast Region, and he served in that position until 1981. Upon leaving Washington, D.C., Mr. Newton returned to his native Georgia and started his own business. With over 40 years of public service experience, Mr. Newton has forged strong relationships on Capitol Hill, and his depth and breadth of knowledge about HUD's CPD programs is unsurpassed in the consulting industry. Mr. Newton also acts as the administrator of CDBG, HOME, ESG, HPRP, and NSP programs for four client jurisdictions, providing full-time consultation services, and daily technical assistance and capacity-building activities for non-profits and participating cities within those jurisdictions. Mr. Newton holds a Masters of Public Administration degree from the University of Georgia.

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Nick Autorina
President

Nick Autorina is the President of WFN Consulting, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the firm’s corporate headquarters in Marietta, Ga., as well as WFN’s satellite locations throughout the U.S. and the Caribbean.

Nick held several management positions related to the management and administration of several federal grant entitlement programs since joining the firm, including his service as managing director for Cobb County, Ga.’s Community Development Block Grant program. His years of experience with federal and HUD-specific entitlement grant programs, coupled with his leadership of WFN’s Business Development team, gives WFN the ability to deliver in-depth, thorough reporting products that are widely regarded as the industry’s standard, with regard to overall excellence. WFN Consulting’s product offerings include Needs Assessments, Consolidated Plans, Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing (AI), Organizational Behavior, Strategic Planning, Organizational Structure, and many more reports often required for compliance.

Nick worked for the State of Georgia and the consolidated governments of Augusta-Richmond County, Ga. (ARC) as a program coordinator for HUD activities, before he joined WFN Consulting in 1998. From 1983 to 1994, Nick served with distinction in the U.S. Army as a member of an elite criminal investigations unit that provided domestic and worldwide security operations led by then-Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney and the former Head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Colin L. Powell.

In addition to earning Bachelor of Science and M.B.A. degrees, Nick also holds a J.D. from Taft University.

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Craig Goebel
Principal Consultant

Craig Goebel has held several senior management positions related to federal and state grant planning and budgeting oversight. He currently manages all aspects of CPD programs in Gwinnett County, GA, and has also served on HUD's development committee assigned to create CDBG Financial Reporting software, acting as a tester in the 18-month beta phase prior to rollout of the product. Additionally, Mr. Goebel has been involved in the creation of the Small Communities CDBG Program at the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, and has participated in the development of a national CPD Planning model to integrate CPD Consolidated Plans and Comprehensive Plans. Mr. Goebel holds a Master of Arts in Political Science from the University of Tennessee – Knoxville and a B.A. in Political Science from Louisiana Tech University.

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The WFN Advantage

WFN: The most trusted name in federal grant consulting for over 30 years

WFN Consulting supports HUD’s “place-based” approach for managing Community Planning and Development (CPD) grant programs through our intricate understanding of the federal regulations and effective implementation process. Other consultants may offer similar services or solutions, but no other firm can match the singular focus, expertise and experience WFN Consulting offers for HUD’s grant programs.

WFN has an enormous edge over other consultants because we are on the ground in many communities, managing CPD programs for our clients and helping them find workable solutions to today's challenges. WFN has not “been there, done that” – we ARE there, DOING what it takes to achieve optimum success for our clients. Put simply, we know what works.

No two communities have exactly the same needs. For that reason, WFN Consulting develops unique case-by-case, workable solutions for our clients, rather than offering less effective “one size fits all” ideas. We put forth the effort on the front end to research, analyze and understand each client’s challenges, so that practical development strategies can be implemented and meaningful community change can be realized.

Delivering successful and sustainable solutions for communities involves a level of understanding and involvement that only WFN Consulting can provide, thanks to over 30 years of consulting, training and management services specific to HUD’s CPD grant programs. WFN’s experienced grant specialists, working in tandem with our firm’s experienced executives, provide our clients with the highest level of expertise and professionalism. If you would like more information about our services, or have a question for a WFN grant specialist, please click here to provide your contact information. We will respond to your inquiry within 24 hours.

The WFN Consulting Difference

Because of our strong executive leadership and capable staff of grant experts, WFN Consulting enjoys a unique level of trust among our partners at HUD and with our clients. When you consider the following WFN facts, our value proposition becomes clear:

WFN currently oversees one quarter of all local government CPD entitlement funds in one of the states we operate in.
Our firm also has over three decades of experience managing large, complex jurisdictions through multi-year contracts and cooperative agreements with both large and small entitlement communities.
As community development practitioners whose clients have received multiple Best Practices Blue Ribbon Awards from HUD, our CPD grant management solutions consistently comply with cooperative agreement provisions, financial and performance reporting requirements, timelines of draw-downs and the close-out of completed grants.
We offer our clients concise reports based on practical solutions and experience in managing CPD programs at the local level.
WFN’s executive and senior staff regularly participates in the creation of public policy at the national level through memberships and officiating status with the National Association for County Community and Economic Development (NACCED) and the National Association of Counties (NACO).
Members of WFN’s leadership team and program experts regularly provide Subject Matter Expert (SME) commentary and insight to various media outlets on a variety of important housing issues. Additionally, books and articles pertaining to community development initiatives have also been written by specialists at our firm.

W. Frank NewtonFounder and CEO