Rochette Dahler,
Owner and Co-Chief Executive Officer
Owner and Co-Chief Executive Officer
Rochette Dahler is the visionary founder and owner of Little Sunshine’s Playhouse & Preschool, a nationally recognized educational organization that began in 1998. Her journey in early childhood education started with the opening of a home-based daycare in Springfield, Missouri. Driven by a passion for creating a new standard in early education, Rochette quickly built a strong following for her unconventional, enthusiastic approach to childcare. Her dedication to the Reggio Emilia philosophy sparked the transformation of her daycare into a thriving preschool network, turning her dream into a reality.
Within its first year, the original Little Sunshine’s Playhouse location had more than 140 students eagerly placed on its waiting list. The success and demand for her vision led to the rapid expansion of the company. From its humble beginnings, Little Sunshine’s Playhouse has grown into an award-winning, nationwide institution, now serving families in 40 communities across the country.
Rochette’s educational background includes a Summa Cum Laude double degree in Early Childhood Education, and she earned the Certified Franchise Executive (CFE) designation from the International Franchise Association in 2013, a distinction then held by only a select few in franchising. Rochette is also an award recipient of the 2015 Springfield Business Journal’s ’40 Under 40′ honoree.
As the founder, Rochette developed and trademarked innovative systems like Kiddie Cams™ and LuvNotes™, as well as the Reggio Emilia-inspired curriculum, Creatively Shine™, a 24-month rotating curriculum that creates a love for learning in children through engaging and age-appropriate themes. Under her leadership, Little Sunshine’s Playhouse has earned numerous accolades: Top New Franchise by Franbest Networks at topnewfranchises.com, nine year ‘Best Of Category’ by The News-Leader, Top 20 Children’s Franchise by Opportunity World Magazine, Franchise Gator’s Top 100, and Top Emerging in 2014, 7-time Inc. 5000 honoree, and Entrepreneur Magazine’s 2014 Franchise 500 list, 7-time Springfield Business Journal’s Dynamic Dozen honoree, 3-time Springfield Business Journal Economic Impact Award winner, and dozens best of category wins for best educational daycare and preschool in local markets across the country.
Rochette’s commitment to high-quality education extends to her own family. Her three children—Gillian, Riley, and Paxon—are proud graduates of Little Sunshine’s Playhouse, where they thrived academically and socially, reinforcing her belief in the impact of exceptional early education and care.
From a small business operating within her own home to a nationally celebrated preschool network, Rochette’s inspiring journey is a testament to her unwavering commitment to innovation, excellence, and her passion for providing children with early education experiences that will serve them through their entire lives.
Brett Roubal,
Chief Executive Officer
Chief Executive Officer
Brett serves as the CEO of both Little Sunshine’s Enterprises, Inc. and Playhouse Development, LLC., guiding both the operational and the real estate development components of LSP.
He has a passion for finding immediate and strategic solutions and guiding people to succeed. His vision is to continue to cultivate and support a thriving leadership and workplace environment that is vital to school health and performance. Having an elementary school principal in the family has given him unique insight on education and placing children in their very best position to thrive. That background is what attracted Brett to Little Sunshine’s Playhouse, where its mission is to do just that.
He obtained his B.S. in Mathematics from Creighton University in 1996. In 1999 he earned his Juris Doctor degree, also from Creighton University.
His career in law begin at Shughart Thomson & Kilroy (now Polsinelli) in Kansas City where he worked for 5 years in commercial litigation. In 2004, he and his family moved to Springfield, Missouri to work for Baird Lightner Millsap, PC, the last 13 of which as a partner. In his 15 years in private practice in Springfield, Brett evolved his practice into a thriving transactional consulting business, where he represented numerous local, regional and national clients on various business and real estate issues, including a close working relationship with Little Sunshine’s Playhouse. Brett has been actively involved in various activities over his professional years, including 7 years on the Missouri Bar Board of Governors and the same amount of time on the board of the Springfield Workshop (now SWI Industrial Solutions), where he served as Board Chairman for 2 years. He has been honored as one of the Best Lawyers in America since 2012, a Missouri Super Lawyer since 2012 and is AV Preeminent Rated by Martindale-Hubbell.
Brett is married to Kristen, an attorney who works as a permanent law clerk for the Honorable M. Douglas Harpool of the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri. They have three children—Quinn, Kennedi and Ellie, who keep very busy with school, athletic and other activities. Brett and Kristen value school first and activities second but most of all they value quality time with the entire family.
Abby Davis,
Chief Operating officer
Chief Operating officer
Abby joined the Little Sunshine’s Playhouse family in 2012 as Program Director at the Rogers, Arkansas location. Her background in Human Environmental Science from the University of Arkansas, along with ten prior years of industry experience, brought her to LSP ready to take on an exciting new role. During her time as a school manager, she met and exceeded the goals and expectations within that position and realized her passion to expand and provide support and encouragement to all other management teams, school staff, families and children within the Company.
With that goal in mind, Abby’s growth continued within the organization and evolved in 2017 when Abby accepted the position of COO and currently oversees all locations, including pre-operational and operational schools across the nation, providing support to both corporate and franchise schools in the capacity of school leadership growth and operational guidance.
Abby resides in Carthage, MO with her husband and four children, all Little Sunshine’s Playhouse graduates and students.
Amber Riddle,
Chief Financial Officer
Chief Financial Officer
Amber’s career with Little Sunshine’s Playhouse began in May of 2016 as the Director of Finance and Human Resource. Amber graduated from Republic High School, then obtained a B.S. in Accounting from Missouri State University. In 2016, Amber received her MBA, also from Missouri State University.
As the Director of Finance and HR, Amber was able to be introduced to the company’s mission and interact with and support the schools within the system; this experience cultivated a passion within Amber and she quickly realized she wanted to expand her involvement to help Little Sunshine’s Playhouse continue to achieve wide-spread success and growth. With that goal in mind, she was able to meet and exceed all expectations in her role and accepted the position of CFO in 2017.
Amber is deeply committed to Little Sunshine’s Playhouse and all the employees and families each program impacts. She is proud of her role within the company and works diligently to ensure the best practices and processes are in place to provide a positive experience for everyone within the system.
In 2019, Amber was a Springfield Business Journal “40 Under 40” honoree, and in 2020 was named the “Financial Executive of the Year” by The Springfield Business Journal.
Amber and her husband, Luke, have two children, Cam and Emma.