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Descanso fills new management position

Juliann Rooke, who served as chief financial officer of the Descanso Gardens Guild, Inc. for the past two years, has been named to the newly created position of chief operating officer for the botanic garden.

“Juliann is at the top of my list of the most talented nonprofit executives I’ve had the privilege of working with in 25 years in the field,” said David R. Brown, the executive director of the gardens, in a news release issued last week. “In addition to her talents in financial matters, she is extremely entrepreneurial and a great manager of people — exactly what we need to maintain and grow Descanso Gardens’ many earned-income business activities.”

Rooke has been responsible for all financial activities of the Guild, which manages the gardens, including developing and managing the $4 million annual operating budget. She will remain the chief contract administrator and take the lead role in working with Los Angeles County, which owns the Descanso property.

“This new job allows me to work in the day-to-day operations,” Rooke said. “What I love about Descanso is all the possibilities — possibilities for improvement and possibilities for sustainability.”

Rooke, who lives in San Marino, has been a financial consultant, the CFO for St. James School in Los Angeles, the CFO for the Los Angeles Humane Society and a senior accountant at Deloitte & Touche.

VHH names foundation president

Yulanda N. Davis-Quarrie, a resident of San Dimas who has taught a fund-raising certification program at UCLA, was named president of the Verdugo Hills Hospital Foundation.

Davis-Quarrie oversees the fund development efforts, public relations/marketing and volunteer services for the hospital.

“I am delighted to be at VHH. The team here is wonderful and I look forward to working with them as well as the dedicated group of volunteer Foundation and Hospital board members, hospital volunteers, members of the Women’s Council, donors and other partners,” said Davis-Quarrie in a news release. “Together, I believe we can continue moving VHH forward as a viable resource for the community.”

Since 1990, Davis-Quarrie has secured more than $80 million in philanthropic dollars for various nonprofit organizations in Southern California, including Orthopaedic Hospital in Los Angeles, The Claremont Graduate School, St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach, The Wellness Community in Santa Monica and Citrus Valley Health Partners in West Covina.

She is actively involved with the Association of Fund Raising Professionals, where she recently completed her fourth year as a board member and where she currently sits as a member of the ethics and finance committee.

Davis-Quarrie earned her undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Southern California and her graduate degree in Health Care Management from California State University, Los Angeles.

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