Born in Livorno, Italy, where his father was stationed in the U.S. Army, Urbanski attended Denbigh High School in Newport News, Virginia.

[2] Urbanski earned an Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1978 from The College of William & Mary and a Juris Doctor in 1981 from the University of Virginia School of Law.

[3] From 1984 until 2004, practiced with the Woods Rogers law firm in Roanoke, Virginia, serving first as an associate from 1984 until 1988, and then as a principal from 1989 until 2004.

[3][4] On December 1, 2010, President Barack Obama nominated Urbanski to a vacant seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia that had been created by the decision by Judge Norman K. Moon to assume senior status in July 2010.

[8] Virginia's senators recommended Jasmine Yoon for Urbanski's position, and President Joe Biden nominated her in January 2024.