ILLUSTRATION BY HUCK BEARD

Josiah Gilliam, 36, is wrapping up his first year as executive director of PUMP, a membership group that serves Pittsburgh’s young people and partners with Pittsburgh Magazine on the 40 Under 40 program; he was an honoree himself in 2017.

A Penn State grad, he lives Downtown and gets around by bike and bus pass. The ages of PUMP’s members range from early 20s to early 40s, averaging at 30.

“We want young professionals to feel like they can have a good, lived experience here, a good quality of life, and also to get involved civically,” he says.

We wanted to know: What is Josiah Gilliam’s Best of the ’Burgh?

What’s your Pittsburgh “hidden gem,” a place that you love that doesn’t get the attention it deserves?

“Con Alma, Downtown. It’s a great place. You get a great kitchen and cocktail experience. There’s live music most nights of the week. And if you’re like me, you’re riding a bike past and you might look in and see Roger Humphries, John Shannon. You just never know who you’re going to encounter.”

If you could only eat one local meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Half pepperoni, half sausage pizza at Aiello’s (with a Penn Pilsner)

If Pittsburgh had a theme song, what would it be?
“‘Won’t You Be My Neighbor’ is the right answer. Honorable mention: ‘Life During Wartime (Live),’ [from the] ‘Stop Making Sense’ concert film by the Talking Heads, because of the line: ‘Heard about Pittsburgh, PA.’”

What’s the annual tradition that you wait for every year?
Opening Day for the Pirates and Open Streets PGH

Favorite Pittsburgh appearance in a movie or on television?
“Jack Reacher”

What’s your unpopular Pittsburgh opinion? What is something you think about the city (or a famous aspect of it) that won’t win you any friends?
“Micro-mobility is a good thing. It’s different modes of transportation. So on the bikeshare we recently had scooters. We should ideally have more options for folks to get around than less over time … So having a biker organization like POGOH, good bike infrastructure, having the T projects like the BRT, which is a bus rapid transit project, coming means that there’s a lot of people, organizations, levels of government working together and problem solving.”

Where’s the first place you take out-of-town guests?
Grandview Avenue via the Incline

If you could bring back one Pittsburgh place or restaurant that’s no longer there, which would you pick?
“Brunot Island as a place to go and have fun. There used to be a racetrack there … It would be great to be able to take the T and have a good bite to eat and go to a concert. You know, fun community recreational stuff.”

You get one Incline ride with any Pittsburgher, living or dead. Who is it?
Andy Warhol or George Westinghouse or Josh Gibson — or all of them. “The stories those guys could tell.”