SARAH JOHNSON

Founder, Archivist, Storykeeper

Sarah Johnson is a professional archivist, librarian, and licensed social worker who helps families preserve their history with care, clarity, and intention.

Long before this became her work, she was immersed in family memory—writing letters to grandparents, preserving old photographs and home movies, and tracing her family’s lineage back centuries. Those early experiences shaped a lasting belief that preserving history isn’t about keeping things—it’s about honoring our stories.

Sarah’s career reflects that belief. She is trained as both a librarian and a social worker, a combination that allows her to understand not only collections, but families—how narratives are formed, how systems shape lives, and why memory matters. She has worked with institutions including the New York Public Library, the Ford Foundation, and the University of Illinois, as well as private clients stewarding significant collections of rare books, papers, and photographs.

Growing up in a family engaged in financial planning, Sarah developed an early appreciation for legacy. But she also noticed what was often missing. Families plan carefully for the transfer of financial capital, while the stories, documents, and personal histories that give those assets context are frequently overlooked.

That gap is what led her to found Legacy Forward.

Through her work, Sarah helps clients organize, preserve, and interpret what she calls memory capital: the objects and oral histories that carry identity, belonging, and connection across generations. She understands how overwhelming it can feel to gather these materials from closets, basements, and hard drives—and how meaningful it is to finally bring order and narrative to them.

Legacy Forward exists to protect what cannot be replaced.

So the question isn’t whether your history is worth preserving—it’s how you want it cared for.