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Sarah is the Flexible Neurotic. What does that even mean? You know that person in your life that you call with questions about everything. Even if she doesn’t know the answers, Sarah is an avid researcher. Her human super power is curating the best information from current cutting edge research and from experts in those areas. Her ability to ask profound questions that even make the best and brightest say, wow, no one has ever asked me that….or want to continue to talk to Sarah to help come together to solve a particular problem or answer a question. She is neurotic in that she researches a topic until she feels she is satisfied. Sarah is flexible in that she has the uncanny ability to hear various opinions and positions and sometimes combine information for even more innovation perspective or solution. Sarah’s friends and colleagues think of her as the Flexible Neurotic.

Sarah has a personal journey of attending both public and private schools while growing up. She understands the very different academic, educational and psychological journeys of being in both public and private schools and the personal transition involved. Although she probably won’t tell you, she went to an Ivy League college and graduated from USC with a Phd in Educational Psychology. She started her own family and her whole plan changed. The highly academically motivated young Sarah with plans for a full blown career, like her mother, disappeared as soon as she had her first child, Jake. Although Sarah grew up in a family with two power career parents, she decided that her want was to stay at home. This decision was a tough one. But Sarah knew that she was so neurotic that she had to be a stay at home, but flexible enough to know that research shows that her kids would thrive either way. Sarah met her husband in 9th grade, OMG! And the rest is history. 

After college, Phd and two kids, Sarah continued to be an eager mom, always on the forefront of the latest developmental, educational and psychological information. I think even her kids’ pediatrician had a love-hate reaction knowing that Sarah Milken was coming in with her kids that day. She would ask endless questions, cite latest research, point out both sides of the controversy or the topic. In the end, Sarah got the information she needed to feel that she had been heard and considered. Sarah operates like this….collects information, curates it…..then everyone calls her for advice.

Sarah lives in Santa Monica with her husband of 1236 years, Jeremy,  and her 19 year old son (Jake) and 17 year old daughter (Marin) There are two family dogs, Chance and Willow. Along with her academic accolades, she taught graduate school at USC Rossier School of Education many years ago. While in the bliss and trenches of raising her kids, Sarah has served on several philanthropic boards and a Los Angeles private school. A few years ago, her oldest kid, Jake, said, “Mom, I have a few hundred dollars saved. I want you to have an office with your name on it. You do so much for Marin and me. You talk to us about everything. I think you should be able to help more people. Aren’t you a doctor anyway?” 

As Sarah’s kids push through the teen years, she feels that she wants to share her “flexible neuroses” with more people, therefore the Flexible Neurotic blog and podcast were born.