THE COMPASS INNER CIRCLE

Real-World Perspective for the Journey Ahead

The Compass Inner Circle brings the stories, experience, and perspective of professionals across roles, industries, and career stages into your journey helping you explore possibilities, make informed decisions, and move forward with greater clarity.

Career Guide interviews, stories, live conversations, and the growing Guide Library are included with your Compass membership.

Support for Every Part of Your MAP

Mindset

Hear honest career stories that help you reflect on your own values, strengths, identity, definition of success, and relationship with work.

Adventure

Explore roles, industries, workplaces, and career paths through people who understand what they are really like from the inside

Pathfinding

Use what you learn to make stronger decisions, prepare for important conversations, and take your next steps with greater clarity and confidence.

Two Ways to Learn from Career Guides

Included with Your Compass Membership

Learn through recorded interviews, career stories, live group conversations, and the growing Career Guide Library.

Use these resources throughout your journey to research a field, understand a role, prepare for an interview, ask better networking questions, and make more informed career decisions.

Optional Private Career Guide Sessions

Sometimes a specific question calls for more personalized, role- or industry-specific perspective.

Active Compass members may choose to book an optional private session with a participating Career Guide. Private sessions are paid separately, and each Guide determines their own areas of focus, format, rate, and availability.

You do not need to book a private session to receive the full value of Compass.

Meet the Compass Career Guides

These are trusted professionals who have built careers, led teams, hired talent, navigated pivots, and learned lessons that can help you explore your own path.

Career Guides contribute to Compass in different ways, including interviews, career stories, recorded resources, and live group conversations.

Meg Douglass: Award-Winning Brand Builder // Head of Brand and Creative​

Steve Fogel: Executive Creative Director, Highdive NY

Rachel Lee Walsh: Creative, Advertising, Marketing Recruiter - Electronic Arts,

Jonathan Cude: CCO TBC Ex Mckinney, W+K

Rachel Frederick: Freelance Creative Director/AD (ex Droga5, BBDO, JL)

Daniela Vojta: Founder, CCO. House of Rabbits! | Mentor & Advisor | Leading Innovation & Creativity | Championing Women

Leslie Ali: Global Creative Director | AI-fluent Brand & Product Builder ​

Amber Justis :Head of Social Creative, VaynerX LA & VaynerMedia LATAM

Jill Applebaum: Chief Creative Officer | Executive Creative Leader | ex Meta,

Tom Scharpf: Freelance Quality Meats, Preacher, 72andSunny, The Martin Agency, Arts & Letters, Venables Bell, etc. VCU Professor Strategy

Tom Sebanc: Creative Director & Writer ➤ Former W+K, Apple, Fallon, McKinney, Carmichael Lynch

Jen Pao: Head of Brand and Creative Ops Chime

Jason Holzman Creative & Brand Strategy Leader
Former NBCUniversal / Macy’s

Andy Chang: Brand Marketing + Account Management

Laura Patterson : Executive Producer PS 260

Serena Connelly: Executive Creative Director | Experiential Events & Brand Strategy | AI-Integrated Creative Practice

When a Private Guide Session May Help

A private session may be useful when you are:

  • Preparing for an interview or important meeting

  • Exploring a particular role, company, or industry

  • Looking for perspective on your portfolio or presentation

  • Navigating a leadership, team, or workplace challenge

  • Considering a career pivot

  • Trying to understand how hiring or advancement works in a field

  • Deciding between different career directions

You can bring the question you already know how to ask—or the one you are still trying to articulate.

Career Guides provide professional perspective based on their experience. A session does not promise an introduction, referral, interview, job offer, or other career outcome.

How Private Guide Sessions Work

1. Join Compass

Private Career Guide Sessions are available exclusively to active monthly and annual Compass members.

2. Explore Participating Guides

Inside Compass, view participating Guides’ areas of focus, session options, current rates, availability, and booking information.

3. Choose and Book

Choose the Guide whose experience best fits your question and follow that Guide’s booking process.

4. Prepare and Follow Through

Use MAP resources, live Office Hours, workshops, and the Compass community to prepare for your conversation and turn what you learn into meaningful action afterward.

Private sessions are optional and paid separately from your Compass membership.

Built on Paying It Forward

The right perspective at the right moment can change someone’s sense of what is possible.

Paying it forward has always been at the heart of how Sam works—sharing insight, making introductions, opening doors, and connecting people who need help with people who can help.

The Inner Circle brings that spirit into Compass, making career knowledge and real-world experience easier to access throughout the journey.

The Bridge Fund

As Compass and the Inner Circle grow, the Bridge Fund will help make memberships and private Guide Sessions more accessible to people who need support getting started.

It is one more way of keeping the spirit of paying it forward alive and helping more people find a way forward.