Skip to content

Features

Seattle’s Most Influential People 2019: Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream CEO, Molly Moon Neitzel

Neitzel launched a pay transparency initiative for all employees of Molly Moon's

By Rob Smith November 4, 2019

molly-portrait-3_0

This article originally appeared in the November 2019 issue of Seattle magazine.

This article appears in print in the November 2019 issue, as part of the Most Influential People of the Year feature. Click here to subscribe.

Who hasn’t wondered how much money your boss or cubicle-mate earns? Earlier this year, Seattle-based Molly Moon Neitzel, CEO of Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream, launched an ambitious pay transparency initiative that allows everyone to know exactly how much money their colleagues earn. Though Neitzel anticipated some pushback, she says she has received none whatsoever. She’s convinced the initiative will motivate and empower employees. “A lot of the benefits of wage transparency will be kind of inspirational,” Neitzel says. “Honestly, employees who make $18–$24 an hour will see the wages of their boss, and their boss’s boss, and see [that they] can have a real career in an ice cream shop and make good money.” 

Follow Us

Most Influential: Ethan Stowell

Most Influential: Ethan Stowell

Restaurateur, Activist

Chef Ethan Stowell knows good food can change lives. You probably recognize him as the force behind more than 20 Seattle-area restaurants and cafes. Now, he’s taking on a new challenge: transforming what kids eat in public schools as a member of Eat Real’s chefs council. America’s school cafeterias serve 7 billion meals a year…

Most Influential: Uttam Mukherjee & Dr. Aakanksha Sinha

Most Influential: Uttam Mukherjee & Dr. Aakanksha Sinha

Co-founders of Spice Waala

When Spice Waala opened in 2019, husband and wife team Uttam Mukherjee and Dr. Aakanksha Sinha had two goals: bring authentic Indian street food to Seattle and give back to the community. Now, with three locations, Spice Waala is known for its flavorful chaats, kathi rolls — and its impact. Recently named King County Small…

Most Influential: Hamdi Mohamed

Most Influential: Hamdi Mohamed

Seattle Port Commissioner

Hamdi Mohamed arrived 30 years ago with her family, refugees fleeing war-torn Somalia. In 2024, the 34-year-old port commissioner became the first Black woman to chair the Seattle Port Commission, the public authority that manages Sea-Tac Airport and the Port of Seattle. Mohamed was not quite a year old when she fled Somalia with her…

Most Influential: Delaney Ruston

Most Influential: Delaney Ruston

Physician, Filmmaker

Delaney Ruston made her first film when she was a resident at UC San Francisco. While the rest of her medical school classmates delivered their final presentations in typical PowerPoint fashion, Ruston was inspired by the “video camera revolution” and the capability of film to portray people’s stories, she said. In the film, she told…