Alexis Gelber was named Newsweek's Director of Special Projects in October 2000. She develops new special issues, features and entrepreneurial projects and works closely with all departments of the magazine.

Gelber has supervised some of Newsweek's most successful special issues. She edited the special issue on early childhood development "Your Child: Birth to Three" in the fall of 2000. Topics in the issue were discussed in a five-day series on NBC's "TODAY" show and Newsweek sponsored a one-day conference in Washington to explore the topics in greater depth. Gelber also edited the 1997 edition of "Your Child" which became the most widely distributed issue in Newsweek's history and was featured at a White House conference on early childhood. It was also translated into Japanese, Korean, Russian and Chinese and became the first American news magazine to be published in a Chinese-language edition in mainland China.

In addition, Gelber oversaw the special issue "Health for Life: What Every Woman Needs To Know" (Spring 1999). "Health for Life" was the impetus behind a week-long series on ABC News' "Good Morning America," which explored several of the topics covered in the issue.

Previously, Gelber was managing editor of Newsweek International and assistant managing editor of Newsweek. She helped set the editorial direction for both the domestic magazine and its six overseas editions. Since March 2000, she was acting editor of Newsweek International, overseeing the magazine's coverage of the crisis in the Middle East, political change in Yugoslavia, the sinking of the Russian sub "The Kursk," and the Concorde crash. She directed Newsweek International's coverage of technology, social trends and the arts and launched personal service "Focus" sections on technology, travel and style.

Gelber was named assistant managing editor of the U.S. edition of Newsweek in July 1992. She supervised two of the magazine's six news sections, National Affairs and Society. As top editor of National Affairs, Gelber coordinated Newsweek's coverage of the Oklahoma City bombing, the O.J. Simpson trial, and the ascendancy of Newt Gingrich. During her tenure in this position, the American Journalism Review's 1993 reader's poll singled out Newsweek for "best coverage of the Clinton administration." As top editor of Society-which covered such areas as Science, Technology, Justice and Sports - Gelber oversaw a special technology issue and cover stories including the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, and the 1994 and 1996 Olympics.

Gelber served as senior editor of the National Affairs section from March 1989 until July 1992. She supervised the magazine's award-winning coverage of the 1992 presidential election, which earned Newsweek two National Magazine Awards from the American Society of Magazine Editors in 1993: one for General Excellence, the other for best Single-Topic Issue, for a special issue on the 1992 presidential election.

In 1991, she also co-edited Newsweek's coverage of the Persian Gulf War, which earned an Overseas Press Club Award for Best Magazine Reporting from Abroad. Prior to being named senior editor of National Affairs, Gelber had served as deputy editor of National Affairs from January 1988 to March 1989, and executive editor of Newsweek International from May 1987. She joined Newsweek as an associate editor in August 1980 after serving as editor of Art Direction magazine for three years.

Gelber is First Vice President of the Overseas Press Club.

A native of New York City, Gelber graduated from Barnard College in 1974. She received a master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 1980. She is married to Mark Whitaker, editor of Newsweek.