About Us

Angela Warfield

Dr. Angela Warfield is the principal consultant and founder of Compass Academics.  With over 25 years of experience in higher education as a professor, test developer, author, and advisor, Dr. Warfield is eager to share her expertise and strategies for college success with her clients.

She holds a Ph.D. in Literature from the University of Iowa and has taught at both two-year and four-year colleges and universities. She has served on admissions committees, advised undergraduate students, tutored extensively in writing centers, developed testing materials for the ACT, and instructed test prep courses for Kaplan. 

Dr. Warfield is a member of the Missouri Association for College Admission Counseling.

Cindy Ford

Cindy Ford draws on her academic experience as a subject matter expert and test prep tutor, and her professional experience from 17 years in Corporate America, to assist students in achieving their goals. 

Ms. Ford’s experience defining complex program requirements and procedures for peers and clients alike informs her approach to reaching students where they are and translating difficult concepts for easy access and understanding. Mathematics and Physics are her specializations, but she also has general experience working with and managing, college students as a university library professional.  As a parent of teenagers, Ms. Ford understands their unique anxieties and concerns. 

Her goal is to be a facilitator, cheerleader, and mentor for young people learning how to navigate academic struggles. She is passionate about scientific inquiry and self-discovery; there is little more satisfying than witnessing the “aha” moments that students express when they reach a point of self-realization and achievement. 

Michelle Parrinello-Cason

Dr. Parrinello-Cason has a Ph.D. in rhetoric and composition from Saint Louis University and over ten years of experience working with students in a range of educational settings. During this time, she has worked one-on-one with students in writing centers and taught at the college level.

Throughout these many experiences, she has focused on teaching strategies that allow her to meet diverse learner needs, including the needs of students with giftedness, ADHD, and anxiety.  

Setting high standards and providing adequate support to meet them is core to her teaching philosophy.

Michelle LaPorte

Ms. LaPorte is a skilled Protein Biochemist with 10 years of higher education teaching experience. She received her BS in Biology from Truman State University before moving onto Southern Illinois University at Carbondale where she received her MS in Molecular Biology, Microbiology and Biochemistry. 

With ten years of experience in higher education, she has developed and taught traditional, hybrid and online biology and microbiology courses. She has extensive experience in tutoring and mentoring of both high school and undergraduate students in Biology, General Microbiology, Anatomy and Physiology, General Chemistry, Pre-Algebra, and Algebra.