Jessica Rolph (born 1974) is an American entrepreneur and businesswoman. She is the CEO and co-founder of

Lovevery Lovevery is an American company producing play-kit subscription boxes for children. Description Lovevery produces educational toys, books, and games via play-kit subscription boxes "designed to meet the developmental needs and brain developme ...

, co-founder and former chief operating officer of Happy Family, and co-founder of the Climate Collaborative.

Early life and education

Rolph was born in 1974 in Minneapolis, the daughter of George Crolick and Sue (née Thatcher) Crolick. She lives in

Boise, Idaho Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown ar ...

with her husband Decker and their three children. Rolph earned a 1997 B.A. in anthropology at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

and 2004 M.B.A. '' cum laude'' from the university's

Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management The Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management is the graduate business school in the SC Johnson College of Business at Cornell University, a private Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York. It was founded in 1946 and ren ...

Career

In 2005, with Shazi Visram, Rolph was a founding partner of Happy Family, the leading organic baby food brand, and she served as its chief operating officer. Happy Family was ranked the 68th-fastest-growing private company in America on the " ''Inc.'' 500" in 2011. The

Kellogg Foundation The W. K. Kellogg Foundation was founded in June 1930 as the W. K. Kellogg Child Welfare Foundation by breakfast cereal pioneer Will Keith Kellogg. In 1934, Kellogg donated more than $66 million in Kellogg Company stock and other investments t ...

made a $4.6 million investment in the company in 2012. The Danone Group purchased Happy Family from Visrah and Rolph in 2013, with the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...

'' estimating its value at between $250 million and $300 million. Rolph co-founded Lovevery in 2015 with Roderick Morris, focusing on age appropriate, educational developmental toys and play kits, with the first product released in 2017. The products are based on Rolph's initial research into infant brain development, the toys she made on her own, and input from child development experts. In 2021, the company raised $100M in Series C funding and announced their expansion with the launch of the Lovevery mobile app. At both companies, Rolph has focused on sustainability,

environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks ...

inclusion Inclusion or Include may refer to: Sociology * Social inclusion, aims to create an environment that supports equal opportunity for individuals and groups that form a society. ** Inclusion (disability rights), promotion of people with disabiliti ...

and equal access.

Climate Collaborative

Rolph co-founded the Climate Collaborative, launched in March 2017, in partnership with Lara Dickinson, Nancy Hirshberg (sister of

Gary Hirshberg Gary Hirshberg (born 1954) is an American businessman. He is the former chief executive officer of Stonyfield Farm, the world's leading organic yogurt producer, based in Londonderry, New Hampshire. He joined the company just after its founding i ...

), and Katherine DiMatteo of the Sustainable Food Trade Association (SFTA). Stonyfield,

Numi Organic Tea Numi Organic Tea is a privately owned triple bottom line social enterprise based in Oakland, California. Numi is known for its assortment of organic and fair trade certified teas and herbal "teasans". The company was founded in 1999 by brother ...

, Happy Family, Nature's Path Foods and other companies have joined the Collaborative's environmental efforts.

Awards and honors

Rolph is a Park Leadership Fellow alumna, and a 2013

Henry Crown Henry Crown (; June 13, 1896 – August 14, 1990) was an American industrialist and philanthropist. Among other things, he founded the Material Service Corporation, which merged with General Dynamics in 1959. At the time of his death, he was a ...

Aspen Institute Fellow, as well as a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. In 2020, Rolph was listed as one of ''Entrepreneur magazine'''s 100 Powerful Women. She and Morris were awarded

Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year The EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards previously Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards is an award sponsored by Ernst & Young in recognition of entrepreneurship. Founded in 1986 in Milwaukee as a single award, as of 2016 twenty-five pro ...

in the Utah division in 2021. Rolph was named

Cornell Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach a ...

Entrepreneur of the Year in 2021, given to "a Cornellian who exemplifies entrepreneurial achievement, community service and high ethical standards." She was also listed in 2021 as one of ''Inc.s100 Female Founders.

References

External links

* (Video, 38:43 minutes) {{DEFAULTSORT:Rolph, Jessica 1974 births Living people American chief executives of food industry companies American chief operating officers American food company founders American toy industry businesspeople American women business executives American women chief executives American women company founders Cornell University alumni