Meridian Blog

If you ask Meridian staff what the best part of working with Sarah Irving is, they will tell you it’s how she makes people feel. Coworkers and clients alike can count on Sarah for a warm smile and an authentic and caring conversation – and if you’re lucky she’ll make you laugh because she can make almost anything funny!

Sarah, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, Partner and Senior Financial Advisor, is Meridian’s longest serving employee, having first joined in 2017 as a Client Service Associate. It’s true that her path to Meridian is unconventional – having studied acting and business administration at Elon University – but her love of numbers and the performing arts, coupled with a desire to have a positive impact on the world, collided into a career deeply rooted in the desire to help people.

Working from the ground up, Sarah innately understood that at the heart of being an advisor is an understanding that this work is bigger than her – that helping others plan for their future and get closer to, or achieve, their goals is both a privilege and a purpose.

Looking back, she feels immense gratitude for her years in theatre — a time that refined her skills in listening deeply, connecting authentically, and understanding what people truly need. Those lessons now inform her work every day, as she crafts thoughtful, creative, and compliant solutions for her clients.

If you ask her, she will tell you that she feels incredibly blessed to be able to do what she loves every day with people she highly respects and genuinely enjoys being around.

Originally from Wilson, North Carolina – best known for Whirly Gigs and Parker’s BBQ – which surprisingly, many people have actually heard of – Sarah and her family call Virginia home. A little more than 10 years ago, she and her husband, Lewis, purchased property near Winchester, with the dream of raising their family in a place of solitude, surrounded by nature. Since then, their family has grown to include a dozen chickens, two dogs – Dude and Charley – two cats, and two witty and hilarious kids, Mi Cha, age 9 and Chae, age 6. In celebration of their Korean heritage, both children were named after family members on her mother-in-law’s side.

Without further ado, here’s the “tea” on Sarah Irving:

What are your favorite hobbies?
I love gardening, cooking, puzzle making, and taking spin classes.

What is your favorite book/movie?
Waiting for Guffman – a classic!!

What was your first job?
My Dad was an oral surgeon and managed his own practice so I would do odds and ends jobs during the summer and when I was on breakduring college. These ranged from office organization, to painting baseboards, to landscaping. I’m pretty sure he left all the dirty and humbling jobs for me and looking back, I appreciate the lessons I learned.

What are your bucket list vacation spots?
There are too many to name! Top of the list is the coast of Italy, Umbria, and St. Lucia.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
The strongest steel is forged in the hottest fire.