Philadelphia Native Promoted to Full Time Anchor on ‘Today’ Show

Congratulations are in order for Philadelphia native Kristen Welker.

It was just announced that Welker will be the new co-host 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 five years with the network in order to spend more quality time with her family. However, you will still see her co-hosting 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.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Welker was born in Philly and spent nearly a decade at Fox 29 as co-host of Good Day Philadelphia.