Sarah Young Austin: A Lifetime Devoted to Helping Others

Sarah Young Austin dedicated her life to improving the lives of hundreds of families over her remarkable 43-year career with Family Services. Her name has become synonymous with the growth of Family Services in Forsyth County.

A tireless advocate, she worked with families seeking to adopt—successfully placing nearly 400 children into loving homes. Her dedication and passion for her work led to a pivotal expansion in the agency’s domestic violence program and Head Start initiative during her tenure. In 1981 Austin was named Social Worker of the Year by the North Carolina chapter of the National Association of Social Workers as one of the 50 pioneers of the profession.

Her expertise and warm smile endeared her to the agency and our clients. Rebecca Nagaishi, former vice president, clinical and community services, reflecting on her experience working with Austin, stated, "I consider myself very fortunate to have worked under Sarah for so many years. She was quite intimidating for a 24-year-old who had just completed grad school and was entering the 'helping profession' of social work."

Michelle Speas, chief operating officer and executive director of the Foundation, echoes these sentiments, saying, “She is what many would call the architect of a great renaissance of program design at Family Services that we still utilize today.”

Speas recalls meeting with Austin. “She was an advocate for our philanthropic success, helping build our first efforts in giving. During one of our meetings, she smiled at me and said, ‘You’ll know what I’m going to do when I’m done.’ I had no expectations,” Speas said.

In a quiet act of generosity, Austin’s compassionate leadership resulted in an undesignated legacy gift from her pension plan valued at just under $1 million.

“She did what was best for Family Services, putting that above programs near and dear to her heart,” Speas shares. Sarah Austin's extraordinary life and selfless devotion to helping others continue to leave an indelible mark on the community and the countless lives she touched. Her gift remains as a testament to the profound lifelong impact one person can make through such a seemingly simple act.