CWU business alumna brings emotional intelligence to corporate America

After earning her associate degree at Green River Community College, Liz Fifield was on the lookout for a degree that would give her a leg up in the world of business.

“When I was looking for my next step, I really wanted a university with a strong college of business,” she said. “It was a smooth transfer process, and I knew that CWU-Des Moines had a lot of unique professors, so it was an easy choice.”

During her time at CWU, Fifield (’18) engaged deeply with the resources available to her, participating in the annual Boeing Case Competition, leveraging the career center, and receiving mentorship from retired Kuolt Professor of Business Andy Parks. It was through this mentorship that Fifield and Parks discovered an unfilled niche in corporate America, one well-suited to their shared interest in emotional intelligence (aka “EQ”).

After she graduated and entered the corporate world, it became clear that people simply weren’t communicating effectively with each other across differences in interaction styles, a skill Fifield and Parks believe can be learned.

“Through our conversations, we realized that if we were both encountering the same obstacle within corporate America, others must be struggling with it, too,” said Fifield, who earned her CWU degree in Human Resources management and leadership. “That’s what propelled us to get the course off the ground and start teaching people about the value of emotional intelligence in the workplace.”

Working together, Fifield and Parks started EQ4Pros, a company dedicated to teaching EQ from a workplace perspective through their flagship course, offered in partnership with CWU Continuing Education, called “Emotional Intelligence for Professionals. The course is on a mission to build mindful leaders while demonstrating that compassion and business results can co-exist in the workplace and even drive greater success.

“Our ultimate mission is to build mindful leaders who lead from a place of, and who have a deep understanding of themselves and create a positive work environment, speaking a common language of respect and understanding,” Fifield said. “This is critical to creating an environment where people can both thrive and excel professionally.”

Parks retired from the company — and from CWU — in June 2024, making Fifield the sole owner of the thriving EQ4PROS LLC. She credits her education at CWU with her success, both in her career and with her business.

“The breadth of experiences I had along with my education have been key to my career,” she said. “Although I earned my degree in HR and leadership management, the work I got to do in getting my Lean Six Sigma yellow and green belts has also been incredibly useful.”

Lean Six Sigma is a process improvement strategy centered around reducing operational waste and ultimately delivering more value to customers and businesses alike.

CWU Director of Concurrent Enrollment and Continuing Education Kyle Carrigan has enjoyed partnering with Fifield on delivering the course to students, and looks forward to seeing where the work will take them.

“Working with Liz on offering EQ4Pros to those that are interested in that work, has been great,” Carrigan said. “Continuing Education always looks forward to working with Liz on the next offering of the course. It is encouraging to see the number of students enrolling in the course and the positive contribution the work can bring to an organization.”

Above all, Fifield sees the people of CWU as emblematic of the kind of impact she wants to see in business and society.