Michelle Relerford

Michelle Relerford is a broadcast journalist and the weekday morning co-anchor for "NBC 5 News Today" in Chicago. With a career spanning more than two decades, Relerford delivers community-centered journalism to Chicago audiences each morning. She studied journalism and English at the University of Connecticut.

Relerford began her on-air career at WNDU in South Bend, Indiana, before moving to WEWS in Cleveland, Ohio. She later joined WHDH-TV in Boston, where she anchored weekend evening newscasts and earned a local Emmy nomination for spot news reporting. Relerford returned to Chicago as a reporter and fill-in anchor. She was later promoted to weekend evening anchor and has received two Emmy nominations for her reporting in Chicago. Relerford has covered major national stories, including reporting from Cleveland on the discovery of three missing girls found captive after more than a decade, and from Montgomery, Alabama, on the release of former U.S. Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. from federal prison.

In addition to her work as a news anchor and reporter, Relerford is active in community service. She founded The Princess Project, a nonprofit organization that provides prom gowns free of charge to high school juniors and seniors in Chicago. She has also served as a co-host for charity events such as the 100 Black Men of Chicago Holiday Toy Drive. Relerford is a keynote speaker on topics including journalism, news and media, broadcasting, and Black heritage, and is recognized for her presence both on and off the air.