Daniel Pasternack

Daniel Pasternack is a lifelong sports enthusiast whose passion began the moment he could read. Known early on for his encyclopedic knowledge of sports history and statistics, he was especially drawn to baseball's overlooked stories, including Moe Berg, the catcher who became a spy, and Fleet Walker, the last Black player in Major League Baseball before the color barrier. His interest deepened through studies of the Negro Leagues, where legends such as Cool Papa Bell, Oscar Charleston, Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, and Pop Lloyd became his heroes. He even dedicated his junior year U.S. History thesis to the integration of Major League Baseball. 

After two decades as a player, Pasternack transitioned to teaching and coaching. He founded the San Diego RBI program through his nonprofit, Athletic Initiative, Inc., and he founded the sports programs at Old Town Academy in San Diego and Explore Academy in Las Vegas. He served as an inner-city teacher, a high school head baseball coach, and spent years working with urban Little League teams. In Las Vegas, he launched the baseball program at Democracy Prep at the Agassi Campus, coached girls basketball, established the Team Vegas Girls Basketball Program, and coached with the Las Vegas Ice Center youth hockey programs.

Beyond baseball, Pasternack grew up playing basketball, ice hockey, roller hockey, soccer, football, golf, karate, boxing, and tennis. He co-founded a K–8 charter school in San Diego, where he helped lead the school's academic and extracurricular growth. Professionally, he spent more than a decade in the finance industry as an analyst, investment advisor, and financial planner, holding FINRA Series 7, 63, and 65 licenses as well as a California Life and Health Insurance license.

Today, Pasternack is an adjunct lecturer at Georgetown University, a fifth grade teacher at The Adelson School, and Lead Faculty Area Chair and Instructor in Finance at the University of Phoenix. In his spare time, he enjoys life with his wife Leslie, their children Tiberius and Kaileia, and still finds time to play ice hockey.

Get in touch

Email: danielspasternack@gmail.com