After spending much of his career in national and international sport communications, Seibel returns to his Colorado roots to serve a mission closer to home.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media contact: Karina Puikkonen, karina@ccalt.org, 720.557.8277

July 11, 2024

LAKEWOOD, Colo. — As the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust (CCALT) continues expanding its outreach and engagement efforts in support of Colorado’s farming and ranching families, it welcomes a new team member with more than 30 years of experience in strategic communications, brand development, resource generation, and stakeholder engagement.  A third-generation Colorado native, Darryl Seibel will begin his duties as Director of External Relations with CCALT on July 23.

CCALT is one of the nation’s largest and most effective land conservation organizations.  It has doubled in personnel over the past two years, including a significant expansion of its external relations team that focuses on fundraising, regional outreach, data management, events, and communications.  Seibel will lead this department and spearhead the organization’s fundraising initiatives.  He will be a primary representative of CCALT throughout the agricultural community and state, helping to shape the future of Colorado’s agricultural land conservation efforts.

“CCALT has an ambitious future, and we want to give people more opportunities to participate in and support agriculture and conservation,” CCALT President Stacy Kourlis Guillon said. “Darryl’s impressive skill set will allow CCALT to better deliver its message about the importance of working lands conservation to every Coloradan. We are very enthusiastic that he has joined our team.”

Prior to joining CCALT, Seibel led an independent communications advisory practice for nonprofits, national and international sport organizations, and federal government agencies. He has more than three decades of experience in strategic communications and marketing leadership roles with membership-based organizations, including two National Olympic Committees – the United States Olympic Committee and British Olympic Association – and university athletic programs.  Seibel said he sees a close connection between success in sport and agriculture.

“Sport, at its best, inspires people. It’s built upon values of hard work, determination, and overcoming adversity and failure. These same values are at the heart of farming and ranching,” Seibel said. “It’s about taking great care of the gifts and resources we have, providing for others, and remaining resolute, even when things don’t go your way. Both offer life lessons that are enduring and invaluable.”

Seibel spent his formative years growing up on a farm outside of Ignacio, Colorado in La Plata County. His father was a school principal in town and the family ran a small farm, leasing land and growing hay for a small number of cattle. Seibel said he gained a deep understanding and appreciation for the work ethic farmers and ranchers in Colorado and around the world exemplify, knowing that behind every family is an important story.

“There are wonderful stories of generations of Colorado families who carefully steward and protect the land through farming and ranching. These stories are inspiring to people from every walk of life and create deeper connections, understanding and support for the contributions of our state’s farms and ranches,” Seibel said. “Nothing is more relevant in our state than a healthy agriculture industry. It’s essential to the fabric that makes our state Forever Colorado and is fundamental to our way of life.”

Seibel said he is honored and excited to be joining an organization that favorably impacts lives and continues to advocate for farm and ranch families across the state. In doing so, he hopes to help more people across Colorado understand the valuable contributions and commitment agricultural families make to the state’s prosperity and to the preservation of a very important way of life. 

About the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust
The Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust (CCALT) is a nonprofit land conservation organization whose mission is to “…conserve Colorado’s western heritage and working landscapes for the benefit of future generations.” CCALT has partnered with hundreds of farm and ranch families in the protection of more than 800,000 acres statewide to date.