Local Folks: Sarah Kiesow

Sarah Kiesow had long been flirting with Jacksonville before finally deciding to buy her home in historic Murray Hill in 2019. Her father is from Jacksonville, she has family in the area, and she visited here as a child.

Originally from Tampa Bay, Kiesow triple majored in Chinese, International Affairs and History at Florida State University (FSU) before earning her law degree from FSU’s College of Law in 2018. Upon graduation, she knew she wanted to stay in North Florida; her parents had recently retired in Fernandina Beach. She joined the Saalfield Shad Law Firm two years ago and began carving her way in general liability law, specifically insurance defense for slip-and-fall cases and pharmacy malpractice.

“This would probably be the closest thing to what I wanted to do in law school,” she said. “I always enjoyed tort patterns and who’s responsible for what.”

Kiesow settled in Murray Hill because of its older homes, character and community feel, and has enjoyed watching it grow. She likes to walk to Spruce Jax –  the closest spot to her house – and spend time at the “amazing” Casita Yoga Studio.

“It’s like a village,” she said. “I can go to Community Loaves or the yoga studio, and you see people that you know. I think things are, for the most part, changing for the better. I feel like whenever I go on Edgewood now, I see a new business opening up.”

Kiesow finds the area’s stray cats entertaining, although she knows others do not. She took such a liking to a particular large, Maine Coon-looking stray that she took her in and named her Ramona.

“She’d been coming up to my house for months. Then, in August 2020, smack dab in the middle of the pandemic, I came home, and she was curled up on my porch during a thunderstorm,” said Kiesow. “I was like, ‘Well, you’re coming inside.’”

The “loud” cat with “a big personality” now lives with Kiesow and her partner, Steven Khan. Kiesow and Khan originally connected on a dating app, though Kiesow said she had recognized him before they matched. Both had gone to FSU for law school and he had been one of her recommended friends on Facebook.

When she first moved to Jacksonville, Kiesow joined the Junior League of Jacksonville.

“I joined the League to meet people because I was new to this area, and I didn’t know anyone,” she said. “It has been one of the best things that I have done. I wouldn’t have nearly the depth of knowledge that I do about Jacksonville and issues in Jacksonville.”

She has served as legal counsel for the Junior League for the past two years and was awarded the Volunteer of the Year Award for 2020-2021. Next year, she will assume the role of vice president of community where she will oversee the League’s efforts through the Fresh Minds and Kids in the Kitchen programs, as well as advocacy efforts through the Public Affairs Committee.

In addition to the Junior League, Kiesow “loves” to travel solo. She’s studied abroad in London and China and sharpened her Chinese while living near Beijing. While she doesn’t typically get homesick, traveling abroad does make her grateful for what she has in the U.S.

“What we have, it’s so nice, she said. “The United States is a very nice place to live. We don’t really have smog in Florida. Going abroad makes you realize what we have in terms of amenities.”

She and Kahn, avid kayakers, are planning to hit up as many Florida springs as they can this year. Her favorite is Ichetucknee Springs.

“They’re everywhere and sometimes you forget about it living in a coastal area,” she said. “They’re cool. It’s like being in a different world.”

Kiesow likes cooking, baking and finding vintage cookbooks for comparison recipes. Kahn is her taste-tester, but Kiesow said he’s too nice and won’t critique her dishes. Her current favorite is an old southern cookbook.

“It reminds me of my Aunt Connie’s food and all the stuff she would make,” she said. “It was horrible for you, but wonderful.”