Gail Collins

In 2001 Gail Collins became the first woman appointed editor of the New York Times' editorial page, serving in the position until 2007. She resumed her syndicated opinion column for the New York Times in 2007. Ms. Collins also writes for "The Conversation," a Times blog in which she discusses political issues with David Brooks.

In her books, "America's Women" and "When Everything Changed," Ms. Collins offers insightful research and historical perspective, with characteristic wit and humanity. Reviewer Amy Bloom writes that Collins' "smart, thorough, often droll and extremely readable account of women's recent history" provides the "best summary of American women's social and political history that I've read." Of her columns, New York Magazine finds that "in an age of outbursts, Collins has subverted the pundit's rude role, performing what amounts to a sly soft-shoe over a rising wave of ideological bombast."

Ms. Collins earned a Bachelor's degree in journalism at Marquette and a Master's in government at University of Massachusetts. Before joining The Times, Ms. Collins was a columnist at New York Newsday and the New York Daily News, and a reporter for United Press International. Her first jobs in journalism were in Connecticut, where she founded the Connecticut State News Bureau (CSNB), which provided coverage of the state capitol and Connecticut politics.