Life for Daniel Pietenpol ’93, P’24 over the last 30 years or so has been marked by a deep commitment to volunteerism and service.
Whether he was working with legislators on key educational issues as part of the U.S. National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) or helping University of Puget Sound students just beginning their collegiate journey, Pietenpol’s desire to help others has been unyielding.
And to think, it all started with a food and safety committee.
Back in the 1990s, when Pietenpol was a Puget Sound undergrad studying politics and government, he sat as a student member of a committee tasked with addressing issues related to food and safety on campus. That was followed by stints on other committees, including ones related to the search for a new university president and to provide input into the university’s emergency plan in the event of a Mount Rainier eruption.
“As a student who was probably 20 years old,” he says, “that was a pretty profound position to be in.”
Those experiences ignited a spark in Pietenpol that led him to reflect recently on an adult life anchored by a desire to serve others. He raised a family with wife Melissa Pietenpol ’93, P’24 including four children and two grandchildren, in Yorba Linda, California. Their son, Riley, graduated from Puget Sound in 2024.
