Dr. Rita Fields

Dr. Rita Fields is the dual CEO of 313 Industries, Inc. and Copper Phoenix Consulting, LLC. She serves as the Chief Talent &Strategy Officer for Lighthouse Michigan. She is also a professor at the University of Michigan (Flint) School of Management and an instructor for the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM).

Dr. Fields is a member of the EDA University Center for Regional Economic Innovation (REI) at the MSU Center for Community and Economic Development, the STC Equitable Outcomes Advisory Board for the Economic Growth Institute at the University of Michigan and serves on the boards of Sinai Grace Hospital, Creating Opportunities to Succeed (COTS), and Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit.

Dr. Fields was selected to be a presenter at TEDx Detroit in 2015. In 2016 she was honored with a Women's History Month Careers Mastered Leadership in Action Award. In 2017 she was a featured speaker at the Detroit Policy Conference. In 2018, she was selected to be an Innovation Fellow for the Center for Regional Economic Innovation In 2019, she was named Outstanding Lecturer in the School of Management at the University of Michigan (Flint). In 2020, she was named the inaugural Executive in Residence for the Community Impact Incubator in Detroit, Michigan. She is a sought-after speaker for her expertise in workplace culture and her transparent commitment to sharing her story of struggle and resilience. In 2022, she was named an inaugural member of Robert Woods Johnson Foundation's Culture of Health Leadership Institute for Racial Healing (CoHLI) cohort. In 2023, she was invited to serve as the Equitable Outcomes Advisory Board member with the University of Michigan's Economic Growth Institute. She is a sought-after speaker for her talent management expertise and her transparent commitment to sharing her story of struggle and resilience.

About the Award

The Jean Ledwith King Award is presented annually to a local advocate for equal rights for women in the workforce, sports, health care, politics, and education.

The award is presented each year at our annual event. It is named after the fierce advocate for equal rights for women and minorities, Jean Ledwith King.