Lester Holt

Lester Don Holt Jr. (born March 8, 1959) is an American journalist and news anchor for the weekday edition of NBC Nightly News and Dateline NBC. On February 9, 2015, he became the interim weeknight NBC Nightly News anchor, filling in for suspended anchor and managing editor Brian Williams. On June 18, 2015, he was made the permanent anchor of NBC Nightly News, making him the first African-American to solo anchor a weekday network nightly newscast. He moderated the 2016 Presidential debates, and interviewed President Donald Trump in 2017. 2Early life and education Holt was born in Marin County, California, the son of June (DeRozario) and Lester Don Holt, Sr. His maternal grandparents were Jamaican. His maternal grandfather was of half English and half Indian descent. He graduated from Cordova High School in Rancho Cordova, California, in 1977 and attended California State University, Sacramento, and majored in government, though he never graduated. In 2012, Holt told American Profile news magazine: "My first on-air job was actually as a disc jockey at a Country and Western station. The only time I could land a full-time gig was if I was willing to report the news." Holt would keep the job with the radio station through his college year