Robert Shoaff

Rob joins ProRank Academy, living in Harrisburg, with his wife and 2 daughters since 2005. His background in architecture and urban design from MIT and NYIT, originating from his studies at HACC in ‘93, has provided over 15 years of professional experience. That professional practice has encompassed a variety of building types and diverse sites. Rob is a “forever educator” that encourages others to lifelong learning through 4Cs / 6Ps in STEAM / STEM. He sees the built environment as essential for both Project / Service Based Learning. Rob believes in the importance of Design & Systems Thinking to address future unknowns. This has been put into practice while working at Office for Planning & Architecture, HACC, and then in the educational areas of the Neighborhood Center TECH Program and the Foundry Makerspace. He has incorporated these attitudes in his teaching from HACC in the ‘00s to the work with teachers/administrators in area public schools. More recently Rob has been consulted on the Harrisburg Comprehensive Plan from 2015 linking residents and community groups around the concepts of social equity. This builds to a collective knowledge of best practices addressing decades of disinvestment in urban areas. Becoming Social Economic Environmental Design (SEED AP) Certified in 2021, Rob has been a community advocate for building regenerative planning processes that embrace the complexity of resident involvement and needs. He sees the need for all Municipal Planning Offices (MPOs, especially in PA) to develop an essential framework of continued public engagement addressing the needs of future generations in a Quad Bottom Line Mindset – people, place, profit, and purpose.