Northwest Region Alumni Profiles

Northern California

Preston DuFauchard (Colorado Academy, ’74)

Preston DuFauchard was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as Commissioner for the California Department of Corporations in June 2006. As Commissioner, he served as Co-Chair of the Governor's 2006 Task Force on Military Financial Protection and currently serves as a member of the California Industrial Development Finance Advisory Committee. He is a member of the Board of Directors for the North American Securities Administrators Association and a former member of the Board of the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators.

He began his legal career in 1984 with the law firm of Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, where he practiced civil litigation and trial work. He moved in-house in 1997 to join the legal department for the Bank of America Corporation. There he was Assistant General Counsel and became the legal department's San Francisco Office Manager. He attended Boalt Hall School of Law--where he earned his J.D. in 1984--and Stanford University--where he obtained his B.A. in 1979.

Yohance Edwards (The Hill School, ’92)

Yohance Edwards attended Brown University, where he played varsity soccer and earned a degree in Latin American Studies. After college, he worked for a sports marketing agency at the 1996 Olympics, as an activities coordinator at a resort in Guam, and in a small law office in Washington, D.C. He then spent two years as the program director for an Oakland-based nonprofit which did entrepreneurship and employment training for at-risk youth.

Yohance went on to attend New York University School of Law as a Root-Tilden-Kern Scholar and Dean's Scholar, graduating magna cum laude in 2003. After law school, he clerked for The Honorable Judge M. Margaret McKeown on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Yohance then spent six years as a litigation associate at Munger, Tolles & Olson in San Francisco, where he practiced complex commercial litigation including securities, trade secret, class action, and constitutional law. Since January, Yohance has been a staf attorney at the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He also serves as the chair of the Board of Directors for the American Constitution Society Bay Area Lawyers Chapter and is a member of the Berkeley Law Foundation Board of Directions.

Yohance lives in the East Bay with his wife Jennifer--who is a professor of epidemiology at UC Berkeley--and his daughter Soleil.

Brian Jeffries (Choate Rosemary Hall, '83)

Brian Jeffries is a strategic, analytic thinker with fourteen years experience in process change management. He has a demonstrated drive in building businesses and envisioning creative solutions to complex processes. Brian is an effective leader and team-builder with proven ability to recruit and guide all skill levels to optimal performance. His perspective is global thanks to professional experience in China, India, South Africa, and North America. He holds or has held the following positions: President and Founder of Jeffries Management Group; Co-Founder of Brigrade Solutions; Senior Consultant at Gemini Consulting; and Manager at Bell Atlantic (Verizon).

Ron Kilby (Verde Valley School, ’76)

Ron Kilby has over 25 years of commercial real estate and financial services industry experience. He leads a team, comprised of both Silicon Valley and San Francisco-based Global Corporate Services experts, in providing sophisticated multi-market portfolio and transaction services to an extensive roster of major corporations. His clients look to him for strategic planning, analytical, account management, and transaction execution services. His experience with corporate clients encompasses compelted projects in all 50 States and over 25 nations worldwide, including all major business centers. The following Core Operating Values remain fundamental to his service: Operate with honesty and integrity; Offer complete transparency; Think strategically, not transactionally; Offer creative and sound solutions.

Arian Palmer (San Domenico School, ’96)

Arian Palmer is currently a Senior Manager at Charles Schwab. In the past, she has held positions as a Marketing Specialist and Marketing Associate at Charles Schwab. She attended University of California - Davis, graduating with her Bachelor's degree in 2000.

Logan Taylor (Deerfield Academy, ’98)

Logan Q. Taylor is a Vice President on Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Global Rates and Currencies team. He originates, structures, and executes derivative product solutions for clients in the Middle Market Bank, Commercial Real Estate Bank, and Private Wealth Management on the west coast. He has been covering the currency and rates markets for the past 7 years.

Mr. Taylor joined Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Global Markets Group in July 2002 after completing a successful internship on the Bank’s High Yield Research team in New York during the summer of 2001. His initial responsibilities were again on the High Yield Research desk in New York providing analytical support to the senior research staff covering the Homebuilder, Auto Dealership, and Auto Supplier industries. In December 2003, Mr. Taylor joined the Middle Markets desk of the Global Rates and Currencies desk and transferred to San Francisco. His initial responsibilities were providing quantitative and analytical support to the Middle Market Bank, Private Bank, and Small Business Bank. In September 2004, Mr. Taylor moved over to support the Community Development Bank, Commercial Real Estate Bank, and Homebuilding Division. He holds a Master's degree in Earth Systems from Stanford University in addition to a Bachelor’s degree in the same discipline. He also competed in NCAA Division I athletics on Stanford’s varsity track team. Mr. Taylor lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.