By Walsh

According to Dr. Rita Fields (DM MGT ’12), “attending Walsh to earn my Doctorate of Management in Executive Leadership while working 70-hour work weeks was the hardest intellectual endeavor I had ever undertaken.” It paled, however to the personal challenges she overcame as a youth.

The accomplished businesswoman, social activist, educator and consultant was, by age seventeen, a high school dropout, homeless and pregnant.

How does a young woman in those circumstances go on to earn her doctorate degree, hold executive positions in human resources at Henry Ford Health System and McLaren Health Care, serve as Associate Professor of Management at Madonna University and become a presenter at TEDx Detroit?

Fields decided, at the lowest point of her life that she could let fate dictate her future or create something that was meaningful to her.  Despite a lack of role models, she courageously choose a different trajectory – one focused on education and the community.  

A Crain’s Detroit Business 40 Under 40 recipient, Dr. Fields’ interest in leadership, people and social impact eventually led her to Walsh. Initially intimidated by Walsh’s reputation, she found the experience to be the perfect way to explore how leadership can impact social change by seeing the connections between human resources, economics and politics.  

Dr. Fields remains busier than ever. She is a dual CEO – both for the HR consulting firm Copper Phoenix Consulting, LLC and 313 Industries, Inc., a machining and tooling company in Detroit she owns with her husband, Dan Kendall,.  Five percent of 313 Industries, Inc. profits are donated to youth-focused non-profit organizations in Detroit.

Walsh is proud to recognize Dr. Rita Fields for her personal and professional accomplishments, and for her dedication to business and the community.