Philadelphia Native Promoted to Full time Anchor on the ‘Today’ Show

Congratulations are in order for Philadelphia native Kristen Welker! It was just announced that Welker will be the new cohost of Weekend Today on NBC. She will be taking over for Sheinelle Jones, who is also a Philly native. Jones has decided to step down after 5 years with the network in order to spend more quality time with her family. However, you wil still see her cohosting the third hour of the Today show during the week.

“I’m so excited and honored to join @PeterAlexander and the @TODAYshow team,” Welker said via Twitter on Wednesday.

Up until this point, Welker was used as a fill in anchor for the Weekend Today. Working part time, she proved herself to be a strong candidate for a potential full time position. When the opportunity presented itself, the choice for Jones' replacement was a clear one.

Fun fact! According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Welker was born in Philly  and spent nearly a decade at Fox 29 as cohost of Good Day Philadelphia.