The purpose of the study reported here was to evaluate the impact of Leadership Institute, a program designed to strengthen leadership capacity through developing individuals' emotional intelligence (EQ). A pre-and posttest approach was used to collect data from two workshops with identical EQ content, program structure, and evaluation. Results showed the program yielded significant improvement on evaluation participants' overall EQ score and composite scales and subscales measuring specific areas of EQ. The findings support previous research that EQ can be learned and developed. Extension professionals are encouraged to consider programs to improve EQ as a tool for building capacity.