Michelle Sade

Age 32: Operations Manager, United Personnel

Michelle Sade grew up in Ohio, near where that state borders West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

“You could see all three states from the house where I grew up,” she said, adding, in a voice tinged with diplomacy, that people are “more neighborly” there than they are here in the Northeast.

“I’ve been living on my street in Springfield for four years,” she continued, “and I still don’t know some of my neighbors; people keep to themselves here.”

Sade credits her upbringing and the ‘more-neighborly’ attitude that prevailed in the Bible Belt with her many and varied attempts to bring some of that hospitality to the 413 area code, especially in her work with the Young Professionals Society of Greater Springfield. She is credited with co-founding the group in 2007 and helping turn it into a powerful force in efforts to engage young people (those under 40) in the goings-on in the Pioneer Valley — and, hopefully, convince them that they don’t have to leave it to find personal and professional fulfillment.

“I see myself as being a real cheerleader for this region,” Sade, the operations manager for Springfield-based United Personnel, told BusinessWest, noting that she had that role in a literal sense while she was growing up in Ohio. “It’s a great place to live and work … we just need to promote it more.”

Still a member of the YPS board, among many other community-based activities, including work with the American Cancer Society and Children’s Study Home, Sade said she is actively involved with helping to take YPS to the proverbial ‘next level.’ This refers to membership, visibility, and influence in Western Mass. — and also finding it a home, meaning a small office, preferably in downtown Springfield.

If Sade has anything to do with it, YPS will be a good, friendly neighbor — wherever it lands.

—George O’Brien

Mark Hugo Nasjleti

Age 39: Founder and President, Go Voice for Choice

In one sense, Mark Hugo Nasjleti’s story isn’t exactly unique: tired of being overweight, he made a commitment to fitness and lost 133 pounds. Since then, he has forged a career in public speaking, sharing his story and encouraging others to follow his lead.

“I thought, if I could do this for myself, I could do it for others, and help other people change,” he said.

Words spoken by many a fitness guru, right? Sure, but with one difference: Nasjleti has Down syndrome.

It’s an important aspect of how he connects with his audience, particularly those with developmental disabilities, but in a way, he doesn’t dwell on it. In fact, a brochure for Go Voice for Choice, his series of self-improvement programs, lists eight of his roles, from speaker and workshop leader to expert on self-advocacy and independent living. Listed at the very bottom is “a man who happens to have Down syndrome.”

That’s because Nasjleti — whose fitness workshops include lessons in exercise, making menus, smart shopping, and preparing healthy meals — doesn’t see his condition as a hindrance, and would rather focus on the things in life he can change.

For inspiration, he thinks big.

“When Dr. Martin Luther King spoke in front of huge crowds of people, they really wanted to follow him, and they did,” said Nasjleti. “I know that, when I show people what I did, they can do the same thing I did.”

He keeps a busy roster of engagements, even including one program for would-be entrepreneurs looking for guidance in starting their own business, as he did. And he’s told his story before both small groups and large national gatherings, including a stint as keynote speaker at the National Down Syndrome Congress last year.

But his core passion remains the same: “I want to help people eat healthier and gain a whole new point of view.”

More and more, they’re listening.

—Joseph Bednar

Scott Sadowsky

Age 32: General Manager, Williams Distributing

Scott Sadowsky is following the footsteps of his grandfather. In fact, he followed them right into the proverbial corner office, which is where he sits today as general manager of the 75-employee Williams Distributing in Chicopee.

It was Sadowsky’s grandfather who started the beer-distributing company 50 years ago. But make no mistake, the office and the title are no hand-me-downs. Sadowsky worked hard to earn his place in the family business.

After getting a degree in Business Economics at Brown University (the same school his grandfather attended), Sadowsky joined Staples Inc. in the Strategic Planning department, where he stayed four years, before going to Harvard for an MBA.

“As I approached graduation, I looked at other jobs, but ultimately, I liked the idea of continuing the legacy my grandfather started,” he told BusinessWest. So he joined his father and uncle in the operation of the business, in a position that has him involved in everything from sales and operations to finance.

In addition to his business skills, Sadowsky shares a few other traits with his grandfather. He’s committed to family — he married his high-school sweetheart; their first date was the prom — and also work in the community. He sits on the board of directors for United Way of Pioneer Valley, the Dana-Farber Leadership Council, and the Pioneer Valley Red Cross.

“This is where I live and work, and it’s important for me to help make the community a better place,” he said. “Revitalizing Springfield is important because it helps our retailers, the people downtown selling beer.”

Sadowsky’s office still holds a few relics of the past — his grandfather’s old Brown University chairs, for example — and a few golf putters. Proficiency in that game is one thing he didn’t inherit from his granddad.

“He was a much better golfer than me,” Sadowsky said. “He would shoot par, whereas my handicap is 12 or 13.”

—Amy Castor