Phillip Mena Joining ABC News

— -- ABC News President James Goldston sent the following note to the news division this morning announcing that Phillip Mena has joined ABC News as a correspondent.

Team –

I’m excited to announce that Phillip Mena has joined ABC News as a correspondent. He will start in New York on May 4th.

Phillip is a gifted storyteller and Emmy-nominated reporter with experience producing, writing, shooting and editing. He comes to ABC News from Houston’s KPRC, where he has been a weekend anchor and reporter since 2012. While in Houston, Phillip reported live from the aftermath of the West Texas explosion, and covered US Navy SEAL Chris Kyle’s memorial service from the Cowboy’s Stadium and Adrian Peterson’s child abuse scandal.

A graduate of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, Phillip began his career in his hometown of El Paso, TX, as a multi-media journalist. He quickly moved up the ranks to anchor, reporting from across the region on the drug cartel war in Mexico, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the trial of CIA-trained Cuban exile Luis Posada Carriles.

When he’s not at work, Phillip is a fanatical sports fan with a near-photographic memory for stats and a passion for collecting sports memorabilia from his favorite team, the University of Texas at El Paso Miners. In the last few years, Phillip has developed a keen interest in astronomy and NASA, even joining the Houston Astronomical Society. These days he is also busy parenting his 12-week-old golden retriever puppy, Toby.

Please join me in welcoming Phillip. I’m delighted he’s bringing his great curiosity and many talents to ABC News.

James