Our Team
Brandon Barfield
Director and Co-Founder
Brandon Barfield is the Director and Co-Founder of SLP/DWOQ and is nationally known as student loan expert for graduate health professions. Since 2011, Brandon has given over 500 loan repayment presentations for schools, hospitals, and medical conferences across the country, and is regularly requested to present at some of the nation’s most prestigious institutions. He also serves as a consultant for employers looking to incorporate loan repayment into their recruitment strategies and compensation packages.
Previously, Brandon was a Financial Aid Supervisor at Kaplan University, worked in financial planning for The Henssler Financial Group, and served as an Enlisted Officer in the US Army. He earned a BBA in Finance from Kennesaw State University, as well as an MBA from Kaplan University. With his diverse background in financial aid, financial planning and student loan advisory, Brandon has a broad understanding of the intricacies surrounding student loans, loan repayment strategies, and how they should be considered when physicians make other financial decisions. On the weekends Brandon can usually be found spending time with his family, attending church, or enjoying the Georgia outdoors.
Lisa Ciritella serves as our Director of Education and is the primary point of contact for our school, employer, and organizational partners. Lisa is passionate about empowering students with knowledge of their financial options. She has delivered hundreds of presentations on topics such as financial literacy, loan repayment strategies, loan forgiveness programs, and debt management.
In her role, Lisa dedicates much of her time to collaborating with our partners and delivering impactful educational sessions tailored to their needs.
Lisa brings nearly 30 years of experience in the student loan and servicing industry, including her previous role as a School Liaison for FedLoan and MOHELA. Specializing in medical schools and graduate health programs, she is widely recognized as an industry expert. Her deep knowledge spans Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), income-driven repayment plans, loan consolidation, and cohort default rates, among other areas.
Trusted by financial aid administrators nationwide, Lisa is known for providing relevant and prompt information in an ever-changing student loan landscape.
Greg Rupp is our Senior Loan Consultant and leads our advisory team. Joining DWOQ shortly after our inception in 2015, Greg has become an invaluable member of our team and helped thousands of graduates with their student loans. He is renowned for crafting strategies for complex couples’ cases, getting loan servicers to fix their mistakes, and finding solutions to tough problems no one else can solve. When it comes to student loans, Greg is a Jedi Master!
Graduating from the University of Missouri, Greg founded an independent college planning firm in the St. Louis area. For 23 years he helped thousands of families with ACT/SAT Prep, college admissions, financial aid forms, scholarships, student loans, and establishing financial plans to pay for college. Greg resides in Dardenne Prairie, MO with his wife and 3 children. In his down time, you might find him on the golf course, hanging out with his family watching Cardinal Baseball, or out back smoking some BBQ.
Jacob Duren is a Student Loan Consultant and is also training to become an Institutional Relationships Manager. He is a graduate from the University of Missouri – St. Louis School of Business, holds multiple securities licenses, and has a strong financial background. A natural people person, Jacob enjoys connecting with his community through philanthropy as well as building relationships with his clients. So he fits in great here at Student Loan Professor and enjoys helping clients manage their student loan debt while taking away the stress that if often brings.
In his free time, Jacob enjoys being active outdoors. You can find him camping in the Ozarks, hiking, or kayaking the rivers of Missouri. Jacob also enjoys cooking and DIY projects.
Farrell Chatwell serves as a Student Loan Consultant on our team. Calling on 5+ years working various student loan roles at Mohela, he is well-known to be an encyclopedia when it comes to student loan rules and regulations. Farrell also has invaluable experience dealing with loan servicers, which really comes in handy when they are being less than helpful!
Farrell is a US Air Force veteran who used his GI bill to attend Howard University, majoring in business finance. In addition to being a supervisor at Mohela, he also has over 10 years of experience with credit assessment/development, and can deploy insightful strategies to help those who are struggling with credit issues. Farrell and his wife co-founded a transitional home for women in Boonville, MO where he facilitates job training/retention, budgeting, credit development and computer training classes for the women. Originally from St Louis, his passions are the St Louis Cardinals and all things Marvel!
Originally from the Lake of the Ozarks, Charles now resides in Saint Louis, MO. You can find him enjoying his free time training barrel horses, out on the lake with family, at the gym, traveling, or flipping houses. Charles is excited to share his knowledge with clients and assist with their student loan success!
Cynthia McGallagher serves as Operations Manager for SLP/DWOQ. She keeps our database tidy, registrations and payments rolling, and manages the phone and Help inbox. Basically, Cynthia keeps the cogs turning behind the scenes so the rest of the team can focus on client advising, and we couldn’t do it without her!
Cynthia has 20+ years of Administrative Assistance in the Financial Industry, as well as several years of retail management experience. She’s a wife, mother of four grown children, and “Glam”ma of six grandchildren. A Rabid St. Louis Blues Hockey & Alabama Football Fan, she regularly clashes with Brandon (a diehard GA Bulldog) throughout football season!