Dr. Affan completed his residency training at Nassau University Medical Center in Long Island, NY where he also served as Chief Resident for one year.
During his residency, Dr. Affan received the 2001 Beth Seaton Award for best resident of the year. During his medical education, he was an active member and student leader of the International Federation of Medical Students Association (IFMSA). He worked as a consultant for many international projects aiming at the welfare of children around the globe where he gained first-hand knowledge of just about every disease and condition that newborns, children and adolescents may face.
“I saw the global ‘big picture’ of the need for pediatricians to be involved not only with the child, but also with the child’s immediate family and extended family—the community. I learned that you must do more than treat ill and undernourished children—you must educate the parents and the community to instill in them the idea of preventative care.”
Sarah Markman- Sayar is the Executive Director for Angel Kids Foundation and the Chief Development Officer for Angel Kids Pediatrics in Jacksonville, FL.
She is an inspirational leader and respected as a sound voice in decision making, as well as a visionary for organizational opportunities that bring people together, helping to extend their thinking while driving business and partnership advantages.
Recognized as a credible player, Sarah has devoted most of her career to working on behalf of vulnerable populations. She has provided direct service to families in crisis and those experiencing child abuse and neglect, family violence, being impacted by poverty, and involved in cross dual systems.
Rising up through the front lines, Sarah has held multiple executive roles, including Senior Director and Vice President Positions where she led teams and projects resulting in systematic change. In these roles, she designed innovative programs that brought evidence-based models to preventive services for children in foster care and residential placement. She also developed policy and specialized foster care programming to help reduce child welfare’s use of residential placements for young people approaching adulthood as well as being an instrumental and recognized leader in the development of the state of Florida’s extended foster care program.
She has over 20 years in the state government and non-profit sectors with proven success in transforming programs and policies to safeguard children and contributing efforts to changing the lives of children and families. Her expertise in program development has helped secure funding to support projects related to abused and neglected children and young adults, including policy changes for the State of Florida missing children, addressing social determinants of health for victims of child abuse and implementation of housing and employment programs for former foster youth. Her work in helping build a trauma-informed Jacksonville has enabled her to focus her passion on working on behalf of vulnerable populations while bringing leaders and change agents together.
Sarah holds Bachelor Degrees from the University of North Florida in Psychology and Criminology as well as credentials as a Certified Behavioral Health Coach and a Certified Child Welfare Professional. She currently sits on the Jacksonville System of Care Committee, North Florida Human Trafficking Coalition and Jacksonville Chamber’s Health Council. She is married to her husband, Javid, and has two children, Lucy and Eliot, who keep her active and focused on the importance of self and family.
