Today’s Donna Farizan Announces She’s Leaving Her Role on ‘Jenna & Friends’

Donna Farizan is ready for her next chapter.

The Today contributor, 34, announced on the Monday, Sept. 8 episode of Jenna & Friends that she was leaving to pursue other professional opportunities.

“A year ago, I launched a series called ‘Own Your Power’ where I challenged myself to speak my truth,” said Farizan, who sat on the couch beside Jenna Bush Hager and Savannah Guthrie. “And now, after 12 years with Today, I’m challenging myself to spread my wings beyond the show to see what new and exciting await me professionally.”

Farizan then rolled a package in which she read a letter to her younger self, detailing her more than a decade on Today and the lessons she’s learned over time.

“Dear Donna, the time has come to start my next chapter. The unknown can be scary, but it’s also exhilarating, so let’s embrace it,” Farizan began, as clips of her reporting during her undergraduate years rolled. “Since I started college and had my heart set on television, I didn’t know where the road would lead, but I knew to follow my curiosity and spark.”

“I created a path that taught me lessons, lessons that expanded my growth as a human being. I paved the way for the show to try new mediums, learn to tell stories in my own style, and made new friends along the way. Discomfort is usually a catalyst for growth. So I shouldn’t be afraid to jump because it’s only the part before I take the jump that I fear. But the bigger the leap, the bigger the shift in perspective and the more resilient I become. Today, we’re fearless,” she continued.

While recalling her time in and around 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Farizan added that she was reminded of how she’s continuously pushed herself to grow, and how she “yearns” to keep doing so. “The joy I felt from the people I’ve highlighted gave me the inspiration to visualize my dreams, believe hard work pays off and maintain my unique energy,” she said.

“The world of TV and content can sometimes feel overwhelming because there is no roadmap. But I am so grateful to have gone to the School of Kathie Lee Gifford, the School of Hoda Kotb, and the School of Jenna Bush Hager, because now it’s time for me, Donna Farizan, to create my own map. Today has been my home away from home because of the friendships I’ve made, the memories I’ll take and the enthusiasm I’ve received from the constant of the show, the remarkable viewers, those who tune in every day and motivate all of us to own our power. The biggest joy of this chapter in my life has been the viewers I’ve met along the way. Success is a team sport, and this is the team I’ve built. So I’ll go take these lessons with me, spread my wings, and remind myself that I can always fly back to say hi,” she concluded.

Farizan has been with the Today show since the early 2010s.

She first joined as an intern at just 20 years old while she was still in college at George Washington University in D.C., before joining full-time post-grad at the age of 21.

While on Jenna & Friends, Farizan could often be seen hosting the show’s myriad of games and contributing stories on everything from the new rides at Universal’s Epic Universe theme park to a unique girls’ night out at New Jersey’s Medieval Times dinner theater.

For the last year, Farizan also focused on telling stories grounded in owning one’s power, including her own. She shared candidly about experiences that pushed her beyond her comfort zone — from freezing her eggs to trying matchmaking — both on the show and in written essays for Today.com.

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The on-air personality has seen the fourth hour of the NBC morning show through its various iterations, from Today with Kathie Lee and Hoda to Today with Hoda & Jenna and now Today with Jenna & Friends.

“We love you. Our whole staff has joined because you are part of our family,” Bush Hager said as she and the show’s crew all gathered to bid Farizan farewell. “You will always be part of our family. As you said, this is your home. You are welcome back whenever, but we cannot wait to see what the future has in store for you.”

Farizan then thanked Bush Hager, who she said taught her “that being myself is enough,” and she also thanked Guthrie, who she said served as a role model she “studied” as a young journalist.

“I also wanna say to everyone here, I uniquely know how hard everyone works at carrying out this Today show legacy, because I have had the dream of dreams to be a cohost,” Farizan said, “I have been a producer, I have been in the control room, and I’ve had the ride of a lifetime as your correspondent.”

Jenna & Friends airs weekdays at 10 a.m. EST on NBC.