Colleen Needles-Steward is an award winning television producer and news anchor

Most recently, the founder and president of Tremendous! Entertainment, a television production and distribution company based in Minneapolis, MN.

Colleen began her television career at WCCO-TV, the Twin Cities CBS owned and operated station, in 1982 where she spend nearly 15 years covering local, national and international news both from the field and from behind the news desk. She produced numerous award-winning documentaries including, Into the Rainforest, an hour long exploration of the rainforests of Central and South America, A World Away, an intimate portrait of former headhunter in New Guinea, Two Nations Under God, an examination of the religious strife in Northern Ireland, and other specials in Africa and Indonesia. These documentaries earned Colleen national acclaim as well as seven regional Emmy awards from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Colleen's interest in natural history and cultural programming as well as a desire to explore children's programming inspired her to establish Tremendous! Entertainment in 1994. Since its inception, TEI has produced more than one hundred hours of natural history, science, adventure and lifestyle programming for PBS, Animal Planet, Discovery Health and National Geographic networks worldwide. TEI currently has fifty additional hours in production and development. The company also distributes programs for other major producers including Termite Arts in Los Angeles, Atlas Media in New York and WNET/Thirteen New York. The Tremendous! catalog includes programs as seen on National Geographic channels in the US and around the world.

Colleen's success in building Tremendous! Entertainment has rested on her ability to attract great production partners and establish strategic alliances with other broadcast companies and popular brands. Most recently, Colleen partnered with publishing powerhouse Chicken Soup for the Soul to release a series of original music marketed under the popular brand. Tremendous! also represents Garfield, the world's most widely syndicated comic strip character, for international television and home video distribution.

Colleen holds a M.A. in Broadcast Journalism from Northwestern University and a B.B.A. in Economics and Financial Economics from the University of Iowa. Colleen's greatest accomplishments are her three children, Tommy, Jack and Annie. Colleen and her family (which includes two dogs, two rabbits and a chinchilla) live in Excelsior.