Bruce Pasternack (A"H) (September 20, 1947 - January 13, 2021) was a man who accomplished more before he was 30 than most people could accomplish in three lifetimes. He was deputy director of energy policy at the Federal Energy Administration under President Ford and was the youngest partner in the history of his company when he went to the private sector. He authored two books on business and countless articles published in places like the Harvard Business Review. He served as a senior executive with one of the world’s most prestigious consulting firms and on the board of several companies before becoming the first person not named Shriver or Kennedy to head up the Special Olympics globally. 

Bruce Pasternack was born on September 20, 1947 in Brooklyn, New York. Emerging from very humble beginnings, Bruce was raised with love but extremely limited economic means by his mother, Sadie – a textile worker – and his father, Jack – a postal worker – along with his sister, Joyce.  Bruce was an academic all-star from his earliest days, excelling at math, physics, and engineering. After winning the Physics Award and graduating #3 in his class of 1,200 from Wingate High School, he attended a prestigious university in Manhattan, renowned for its schools of Engineering, Art and Architecture – The Cooper Union. He received his degree in Mechanical Engineering (with honors) in 1968 and then went on to earn a master’s degree in Systems Engineering and Operations Research from the University of Pennsylvania in 1970. With a passion to give back to his undergraduate school, Bruce served on the Board of Trustees for The Cooper Union starting in 2004.

Bruce headed to Washington DC in 1972 to join President Gerald Ford’s administration as the deputy director of Energy Policy at the President's Council on Environmental Quality (later known as the Federal Energy Administration) and principal staff to the White House Energy Resources Council. In this role, he worked on the Alaska Pipeline Project and launched the first significant Earth Day Celebration. After his second child arrived, Bruce left government service to join the international consulting firm, Booz Allen & Hamilton, starting in their government sector and later moving to their energy, chemicals and pharmaceuticals practice in DC, eventually leading the group. During his time with BAH, he relocated to San Francisco and also developed and lead the Strategic Leadership group and was the managing partner of the San Francisco office. While there, he co-authored two highly regarded business books – The Centerless Corporation (1998) and Results (2005). 

Bruce left Booz Allen in 2005 to follow his philanthropic passions as the President & CEO of Special Olympics International at their HQs in Washington, DC. He felt it was a great honor to travel the world on behalf of Special Olympics, the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to 5 million athletes and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries. He left Special Olympics in 2007, later becoming a partner at venture capital firms. Bruce was actively involved in the Jewish community in the Bay Area, helping to build a new Jewish community campus in Foster City. He also serving on the Board of Directors for LifeSpring, Codexis, BEA Systems, Symyx, and others.

But if you were to ask Bruce about his proudest accomplishments, he would tell you of his deep pride in and love and appreciation for his wife, Lynne, his three children – Joanne (Robert), Laura, and Dan (Leslie) – and grandchildren, Kira, Reid, Kaileia and Tiberius – as well as his children by marriage – Natalie (Michael), Bradley (Haylee), and Stephanie (Dan) and their children, Eliana, Braxton, Joshua, Peyton, and Dylan (A”H). Louise - his former wife - and mother of his three children. And his beloved sister, Joyce (Pasternack) Falk and her family - Michael (husband), Sara and Joanna as well as his very large extended circle who knew him as Dad, Papa Bruce, big brother, baby cousin, sweetheart ... a loving husband, father, grandfather, uncle, cousin, son, brother, nephew, son-in-law, step-father, friend, co-worker, thought-leader, strategist, inspirational leader, change-maker, cheerleader and, most of all, a very kind and gentle man. 

A life is measured on the impact it has on others and Bruce Pasternack is someone who will be remembered well beyond his own lifetime. From the millions of children who benefitted from his work with the Special Olympics to the countless friends and mentees he had over the years, Bruce had an impact that simply cannot be quantified. We have all learned through him and have taken his lessons, recognizing that our gifts are best served in helping others and not ourselves. 

And while Alzheimer’s may have stolen the man we loved in his final years, we will always remember him as he was before that terrible disease. He was a great friend, great businessman, great philanthropist and great father. He loved Duke Snider, Jackie Robinson and the Brooklyn Dodgers, going to games at the Oakland Coliseum and AT&T Park, he loved to travel and experience new cultures. He loved music, especially the music of the 1960s, Broadway shows and Elvis. He loved comedy, especially Johnny Carson. And he adored his grandchildren. He will be missed by so many people and we will do our best to carry on his legacy.