‘Today’ Show Member Announces Exit After More Than a Decade With the Show

A longtime TODAY contributor is moving on after more than a decade with the NBC show.

Donna Farizan, 34, announced Monday on Jenna & Friends that she would be making her exit to pursue a new chapter professionally. Farizan first joined TODAY as an intern at 20 years old while attending George Washington University, before joining full-time upon graduating a year later.

“A year ago, I launched a series called ‘Own Your Power’ where I challenged myself to speak my truth,” Farizan announced Monday alongside 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 opportunities await me professionally.”

Farizan also read a letter written to herself reflecting on her decade-plus at TODAY.

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“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. “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,” she continued. “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 added, “Everywhere I turn surrounding the perimeter of 30 Rock, I’m reminded of ways in which I’ve pushed myself outside of my comfort zone. Now it’s time to do that again. Because that’s how you grow — and I yearn to grow.”

Farizan also made sure to thank colleagues who had come before her as she embarked on a new adventure. “The world of TV and content can sometimes feel overwhelming because there is no roadmap,” she read. “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.”

While TODAY has been a “home away from home” with all the friendships she’s made and memories she’ll take with her, Farizan wrote that she would take the lessons she has learned there, “spread my wings, and remind myself that I can always fly back to say hi.”