MEET MOLLY
She’s a 4x Emmy winner, 3x author, global speaker and founder of the sell-out “Bet On Yourself Summit.” So yes, there’s a formal bio.
But want to know Molly? Like, actually know her story?
Then keep reading.
Born in Michigan on an island with horse-drawn carriages but no cars (ever heard of Mackinac?), Molly grew up in both Pennsylvania and North Carolina. She had three younger brothers and two dreams. Become:
A] an award-winning journalist OR
B] a mermaid.
Because the latter isn't possible, she went all-in on the first option.
After graduating from UNC Chapel Hill with honors in its broadcast school, she couldn't find a job. Blame bad timing. Blame a competitive television industry. She had education and eagerness, but nowhere to work.
So, she and a childhood girlfriend packed Molly's Toyota Camry and planned a cross-country trek to drop off Molly's resume tapes, visit TV stations in all 50 states, and ask to meet news directors in person.
Fifteen thousand miles in four weeks. Seven national parks, 29 gorgeous sunsets and a surf session in Big Sur. Think Thelma and Louise with a business suit hanging in the back next to camping gear.
When that (um, obviously) didn’t work, Molly got back to the Carolinas and took an entry level associate producer high school football show role at a TV station in Raleigh-Durham. Did she care about high school football? No. Did she want a foot in the door? Yes. Her grit and dedication (at times sleeping on couches in the TV station lobby) got her on-air reporting first in Raleigh, then in Lexington, Kentucky, then in Charlotte, North Carolina.
She never left Charlotte, rising to main anchor, leading 20 live shows a week and talking to 100,000 people a night. Over her 27-year career, she interviewed 15,000+ people, trained with a National Guard unit to go to Baghdad, changed state law to help sick children, became one of two women nationwide to solo anchor a #1 main newscast, and won four Emmy’s… one for her coverage of gangs.
Along the way, she got married, had three kids, and wrote three books. She says she knew she was in the right place, doing the right thing.
Until, suddenly, she knew she wasn’t.
After 20 years at the station leading multimillion-dollar newscasts as the longest-serving female anchor in the market, Molly opted not to renew her contract. Her decision. When she told her bosses, they carted her out with a box in front of her team. Zero goodbye or fanfare. Though, she did receive a front-page news article the next day.
The rebirthing and reinvention of Molly from that unexpected moment is what makes her relatable to diverse crowds and audiences. She is building success in the face of failure, while using clever wit and decades of career experience to simplify the complicated into memorable nuggets the world can understand.
“Bet On Yourself.”
Molly’s dad—she calls him her hero—used to say those three words. Decades after he died from colon cancer, she lives in their power. Even wears them on her wrist as a North Star so she never, ever forgets: We have what we need inside ourselves.
Molly’s former career gives her the gift to know how to take a room’s temperature, navigate emotions, and connect people. She’s now using those gifts to teach others how to bet on themselves. While looking through the windshield (not rearview!), she’s transparently living out her next steps in real time, not afraid to share the ups-and-downs with the world.
Still… in her next life… she says she wants to be a mermaid.