Our Team
Colleen Callahan and Kelsey Litchfield
We bring decades of combined experience in agricultural communications, blending practical field knowledge with media and storytelling expertise. Our work is guided by our mantra of communicate, collaborate, connect and grounded in thoughtful strategy and a collaborative approach to every project.
Our Team
Colleen Callahan, Founder & Owner
Colleen Callahan lives the principle of communicate, collaborate, connect through a career shaped by agriculture, leadership, and public service. Raised on a livestock and grain farm near Milford, Illinois, she earned early national recognition in livestock competitions and became the first woman to join the Illinois state 4-H livestock judging team while a student at the University of Illinois.
She built a pioneering career in farm broadcasting as the first woman agribusiness director at WMBD Radio and Television in Peoria, serving for 30 years. Colleen later became the first female president of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting and the first woman inducted into its Hall of Fame.
Her leadership continued through a presidential appointment as Illinois State Director of USDA Rural Development and later as the first woman to lead the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, where she guided the agency through the pandemic and strengthened its long-term direction. Today, she lives in Kickapoo, Illinois, with her husband, Dick, on their Angus cattle and the Little White Dogs Flower Farm.
Through Colleen Callahan Consultancy, she helps organizations put her guiding principles into practice by delivering leadership and media trainings, providing audio and podcast consulting, and serving as an event emcee, facilitator, and moderator.
C3@colleencallahan.com
Kelsey Litchfield, Partner
Kelsey Litchfield is a multimedia communicator, broadcaster, and media consultant based in west-central Illinois. A storyteller at heart, she works with agribusinesses and organizations throughout rural America to help them communicate clearly, authentically and effectively.
From an early age, Kelsey was drawn to storytelling through sound and visuals. She loved watching and listening to the news and was especially captivated by radio, developing an appreciation for the power of voice and storytelling long before she entered the professional world.
Kelsey earned her bachelor’s degree in agricultural communications and broadcast journalism from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Internships with RFD Radio Network, Illinois Farm Bureau, National FFA, and Colleen Callahan Consultancy further fueled her passion for agricultural journalism, media production, storytelling and consulting.
She is an active member of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting. Kelsey has been recognized with the AAEA Dr. Jim Evans Scholarship and the NAFB Orion Samuelson Scholarship. She is also a 4-H and FFA alumna and proudly earned her American Degree.
Kelsey remains active on the family farm and enjoys showing antique Ford tractors with her family. She serves on her local township board and on the ACES Alumni Association board and, in her free time, can often be found with her Australian shepherd, Lexie. A proud Illinois fan, she’s always ready to shout I-L-L!
Kelsey@colleencallahan.com