Jerry Greenfield -- Co-Founder Of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream

Jerry Greenfield was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1951, four days before his partner, Ben Cohen. He grew up and went to school in Merrick, Long Island. It was there that he met Ben, in junior high school. Ben and Jerry both attended and graduated from Calhoun High School in Merrick. Jerry graduated from high school with a National Merit Scholarship under his belt and enrolled in Oberlin College in Ohio to study pre-med.

At Oberlin, Jerry got his first taste of working in the ice cream industry when he took a job as a scooper in the college cafeteria. His favorite course, however, was “Carnival Techniques,” where he picked up several useful skills, including fire-swallowing.

After graduating from Oberlin, Jerry applied to medical school but wasn’t accepted. He worked as a lab technician in New York, performing experiments to analyze oxidative phosphorylation in beef heart mitochondria. After a year of mashing beef heart morsels into test tubes, Jerry reapplied to medical school and was once again rejected.

In 1974, Jerry moved to North Carolina with his wife-to-be, Elizabeth. At this time, Jerry claimed that he took his "first retirement." His retirement was more like a three-month sabbatical, however, after which he returned to his former profession as a lab technician.

Jerry moved back up north in 1976, and again moved in with Ben, this time in Saratoga Springs, New York. There, they decided to pursue their dream of starting a food business together. They settled on ice cream and began researching the industry. After receiving A's in a $5 Penn State correspondence course in ice cream making, they set up their Ben & Jerry’s ice cream parlor in Burlington, Vermont, opening in May of 1978.

Jerry made all the ice cream for the busy shop, which quickly became well known for its rich, unusual flavors and community approach to business. As the small company grew and began to add more employees, Jerry decided to accompany Elizabeth to Arizona to provide moral support as she completed a Ph. D. program.

In 1985 Jerry and Elizabeth returned to Vermont, and he rejoined the company as “Director of Mobile Promotions.”  He has been involved in various functions, including distribution and marketing activities.