Sarah L. Sladek

Director

Limelight Generations

Minneapolis, MN

Sarah L. Sladek is the president and CEO of Limelight Generations, one of the only generational companies in the United States focused on recruiting, retaining, managing, and marketing to generations X, Y, and Z. The company is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

                       

Ms. Sladek started researching the absence of younger generations in membership associations and businesses in 2002. She has given presentations and provided training and consulting on the topic to businesses and associations nationwide.

She is also the author of two books on the topic--Rock Stars Incorporated: Hiring the High-Performance, High-Maintenance Hotshots Half Your Age (2008) and The New Recruit: What Your Association Needs to Know About X, Y, & Z (2007).

Ms. Sladek has been interviewed by national media and she is a standing columnist for Association News magazine. She also authors a blog, Generations X, Y, & Z, and an e-newsletter, StageRight.

Under Ms Sladek’s direction, in 2009 Limelight Generations will launch XYZ University, the first Web-based learning and networking community for membership associations focused on the generational topic, as well as RockStars@Work, a unique conference format addressing the talent gap.

Limelight Generations is organized as a Minnesota Keystone Company, giving 2% annually to community needs. The company received the 2008 Innovative Business Award from the Minnesota chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners, and a Quality of Life Award in 2006 for a public relations campaign benefitting Cheerful Givers.

Prior to starting her own business, Ms. Sladek was the director of communications and media for the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce and the managing editor of Finance and Commerce newspaper. She is a 1994 graduate of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa with majors in English and Public Communication.