Melina Gerosa Bellows

Melina Gerosa Bellows is executive vice president and chief creative officer of Books, Kids and Family at National Geographic. She leads the editorial and design teams for National Geographic Books, Children’s Books, Kids and Little Kids Magazines as well as all of the Society’s kids and family product lines, including online and digital platforms.  

She was previously executive vice president of Children’s Publishing, overseeing the Children’s Book Division and serving as editor in chief of National Geographic Kids, the largest children’s magazine in America, with a circulation of 1.2 million. The magazine has nearly 20 international editions.

 In 2007 she launched National Geographic Little Kids for preschoolers and their parents. The magazine has a circulation of 300,000 and has garnered The Parents’ Choice Gold Award each year for the past five years.

An internationally published best-selling author, Bellows’ most recent books are “Love You, Dad” and “Mother’s Love” for National Geographic Books. Her first book with National Geographic, “Nat Geo AMAZING! 100 People, Places, and Things That Will Wow You,” was published in June 2010. It is the companion book to “Nat Geo AMAZING!”, a 10-part television series that debuted on the National Geographic Channel in July 2010.

Bellows’ previous books include “The Fun Book” (Simon & Schuster, 1998), “The Fun Book for Couples” (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2003), the novel “Wish” ((New American Library, 2005), “The Fun Book for Moms” (Andrews McMeel, 2007), “The Fun Book for Girlfriends” (Andrews McMeel, 2009) and “The Fun Book for Christmas” (Andrews McMeel, 2009).

Bellows is an award-winning freelance writer who has written for The New York Times, National Geographic Traveler, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Family Life, Family Circle, More, Ladies Home Journal, The Washingtonian, AARP The Magazine, Coastal Living, Entertainment Weekly and Elle.

She has appeared on such television shows as NBC’s “Today” show, ABC’s “The View,” Fox’s “Good Day New York” and “Fox and Friends” and CNN.

A graduate of Boston College’s Honors Program, Bellows lives in Washington, D.C., with her young son and daughter.