KRYSTA Sadowski
Company: Gallagher, Flynn & Company
Title: Senior Manager
Age: 33
Most Inspiring Mentor: It truly does “take a village” and I have been blessed with a village of mentors including my parents, Martha Maksym, and many others from VT! Marty Rodgers was an influential 
mentor from DC who instilled the values that “service is the rent we pay for living” and taught me a lot about “doing well by doing good” as a business leader. These are some of the values I seek to bring to the HR Practice at Gallagher, Flynn, & Co. today.
Favorite Vermont Escape: A hike up Hunger Mountain followed by a swim in the Waterbury reservoir and a beer at local brewery!
Favorite Downtime Activity: Hiking, skiing, or anything outdoors with good people and good views!
Favorite Super Hero: Mulan or Wonder Woman…it’s a toss-up.
Person you would like to share a Vermont beverage with: Madeleine Kunin, Ben & Jerry, and any VT governors.
If you had unlimited access to funds, which causes would you support: Education access, youth development programs, and conflict resolution programs like Seeds of Peace and Friends Forever.
What is the best career advice you have received: The best career advice I have received was to have the courage to explore my strengths, skills and passions and then to figure out how to apply these to serving the world’s needs. (That advice was compliments of my Dad!)
What motivated you to live and work in Vermont: While I have been grateful to travel and work across the US and abroad, Vermont has always felt like home. The opportunity to work and serve in my home community was a longtime desire and the timing was finally right! There is just something special about this place, its people, and its values.
Career Highlights: Receiving the “lap plunker” award in preschool! In all seriousness, having the opportunity to work with my Dad and to help build the HR Consulting practice at Gallagher, Flynn & Co. while serving local companies and organizations has been an incredible journey!
Community Involvement: Since moving back to VT in 2016, I have been involved in helping address workforce development issues in our state and working on innovative solutions to help solve the talent shortage for VT. I am passionate about helping our state thrive and to continue to be a great place to live and work!
This led me to co-find the VT Welcome Wagon Project with Tim Monty and Whitney Bush. The program helps new and newly returning Vermonters get connected to community faster with the goal of improving worker retention in the state and improving community engagement. I am also serving as a member of a working committee for 70x2025VT with the mission to “increase the economic and civic vitality of Vermont through education attainment”. The goal is to increase the percentage of working-age Vermonters with a post-secondary degree or credential of value to 70% by 2025. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I enjoy mentoring other young professional women and men (the next generation of Rising Stars!).
