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Robert Gradeck Urban & Regional Analysis Program Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center (WPRDC) · Project Director 3343 Forbes Ave Room 106 Pittsburgh, PA 15260 Phone:  412-624-9177 Email:  rmg44@pitt.edu Twitter:  @BobGradeck

What I’m working on (snippets)

Bob Gradeck manages the Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center at the University of Pittsburgh’s University Center for Urban and Social Research. Bob also takes the lead role in building relationships with data publishers and users, and also is responsible for Data Center community engagement efforts. Bob has worked at the University Center since 2009, where he managed the Pittsburgh Neighborhood and Community Information System, contributed to a number of Center research efforts and outreach projects, and helped to launch the Southwestern Pennsylvania Community Profiles.

Prior to joining the University of Pittsburgh, Bob worked at the Carnegie Mellon University Center for Economic Development for ten years, where he helped to found the Pittsburgh Neighborhood and Community Information System, and worked on a number of projects and initiatives related to technology-based economic development in the Pittsburgh region. Bob also worked at City Source Associates in Pittsburgh, where he compiled information for people moving to the City of Pittsburgh. Bob started his career at the Atlanta Project, where he helped lay the foundation of one of the nation’s first neighborhood information systems. Bob received a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies from the University of Pittsburgh in 1993, and a Masters of City Planning from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1995.

Bob serves on the Executive Committee for the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership, and also was the first organizer for Open Pittsburgh, the region’s Code for America Brigade.

Bob is married, has two children and a dog, grew up in Pittsburgh’s Overbrook neighborhood, and now lives in Regent Square. In his spare time, he can often be found walking the dog, running errands, playing ice hockey, fixing the house, or in the river on his kayak.

Likes:  Dogs, sarcasm, practical jokes, ice cream, enemies lists, taking the bus to work, old video arcade games, snow, making LEGO dioramas, and potato chips.

Dislikes:  When people take things too seriously (including themselves), drivers that run the red light at the intersection of South Braddock and Hutchinson, cats, liver, walnuts, and chain restaurants.

Useless trivia:  In college, Bob used to drive the Zamboni at a local skating rink.