Robert Gradeck has focused his career on helping people find and use civic information. He manages and co-founded the Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center (WPRDC) at the University of Pittsburgh. The WPRDC is an inclusive open data partnership between the University, Allegheny County, and the City of Pittsburgh. The WPRDC helps to inform many community initiatives in the areas of health, housing, environmental protection, transportation, and social justice. He is a member of the Civic Switchboard project, which helps libraries and library workers become participants in civic data initiatives, and participates in the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership. Robert is also currently a co-leader of the Black Equity Coalition’s Data Justice Working Group, and serves as a fellow in the Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy's Equity in Practice Learning Community . He received his B.A. in Urban Studies from the University of Pittsburgh, and Masters in City Planning from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and finished third in the Pennsylvania Farm Show's butter sculpture competition in 2021.