About Us

About Us

A distant Pavilion seen through palm trees and yucca plants
Kelly Hadden

is found in the middle of a rural oasis in the Arizona Sonoran Desert outside Eloy, midway between Phoenix and Tucson. Composed of halls, meeting spaces, a large professional kitchen, dormitories, a swimming pool, and rental units, DRBI is a charitable, not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization that is inspired by the peaceful and unifying teachings of the Bahá’í Faith

Our Vision

Desert Rose is a community-based center of learning, guided by Bahá’í principles, that creates an atmosphere of spirituality which inspires positive human development.

Our Mission

The Mission of Desert Rose is to serve the community at large through phased development of activities and institutions that promote spiritual, artistic, intellectual, agricultural, and other practical education for people of all ages and backgrounds.

Governance Structure

The Board of Directors is appointed by the Corporate membership of the Institute, the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Scottsdale Arizona, and consists of the following members:

 

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Taj Sabet BBA:  Chair.  Taj is a trilingual businessman /entrepreneur who is currently focused in real estate investment. Taj has served as Chairman of the  Board for the past six years, has lived and worked around the world and is also the great-grandson of Shu’a’u’llah ‘A’la’i, one of the two Hands of the Cause to whom the institute is dedicated. 

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Dr. Marjaneh Gilpatrick Ed.D: Secretary.  Marjaneh is the Associate Dean in the College of Education at Grand Canyon University. In that role she oversees the college’s outreach, research, and development efforts. She is particularly passionate about providing culturally responsive opportunities that enrich the underserved students for whom English is an additional language.

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Dwight Cox: Vice-Chair.  Dwight joined the DRBI Board in 2015 after he moved his Aviation business into the Eloy Sky Dive property just down the road.  Dwight’s degree in Aviation Mechanics belies his passion for reclaiming the desert as viable land.

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Harry Walker B.Sc. MBA: Treasurer.  Harry is an accomplished business strategist, corporate finance manager, and economic development strategist. Specializing in economic development and emerging markets, Harry brings creative thinking to the challenge of financial sustainability for not-for-profits.

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Mooi Yong Ng Khosraviani BSc: Board member.   
Mooi Yong is the accounting
manager for Flowers Bakery
stationed in the Phoenix area. Born and raised in Malaysia, she has served the Faith in multiple countries before settling inArizona.

 

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Marguerite Sears: Board member.  
As the namesake and grand daughter of the founder of DRBI, Marguerite has a unique connection to the Institute. She specializes in envisioning events and activities that will inform even more people about Desert Rose.

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Jeanne Sheridan: Board member. 
Jeanne and her husband Duffy were some of the first people to come to DRBI and, after a short absence, we are thrilled to welcome her back. Jeanne helps drive many of the Arts and cultural programs at the Institute.




Executive Director

The Executive Director is the individual who oversees the Administration of the Institute, executing against strategies that have been proposed by the Board.  In this period of downturn, Board Vice-Chair Harry Walker is filling the Executive Director role on a part-time basis, and we thank him for this additional contribution.

Management Team

As a Not-for-Profit 501c (3) DRBI has long relied on the generosity of skilled  individuals within the community to administer the day-to-day activities of Desert Rose.  This can mean everything from answering queries on the phone to scheduling tours, managing accounts payable, completing maintenance and orchestrating landscaping. 

You may call them Volunteers; we call them EXTRAORDINARY!

DRBI’s extraordinary Management Team is:
John Hanke, Gayle Hanke, and Rob Prater

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Photos by Glen Darling
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A man with dark glasses and a sun hat smiles at the camera.

Our core team keeps the Institute running like a charm, assisted by various other volunteers both on-site and off, who are happy to serve DRBI in any way they can. 

They can be reached at (520) 466-7961 and at info@drbi.org.

Volunteers

Volunteers are the lifeblood of any non-profit operation. Volunteer service allows DRBI to offer exceptional programs to our local, national, and international audiences. Service opportunities exist in the areas of landscaping, food service, housekeeping, maintenance, programming, events coordination, bookstore, library, and more.

If you are interested in investigating a Volunteer experience at DRBI please visit the Contribute page.