November 6, 1997

              SHERYL J. WILKERSON NAMED DIRECTOR,
      OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE AND INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

     Sheryl J. Wilkerson has been named Director of the Office of Legislative and
Intergovernmental Affair.  Since September of 1996 Wilkerson has served as Special Counsel to
then-General Counsel William E. Kennard where she advised the General Counsel on a variety
of telecommunications issues.  Prior to this position she served as Special Attorney Advisor for
the FCC's Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs.  There she was responsible for
advising the FCC with respect to legislation, coordinating the agency's task force on
telecommunications reform legislation, and monitoring the FCC's implementation of the
Telecommunications Act of 1996.  She was awarded the Chairman's Special Achievement
Award for her work with Congress on the Telecommunications Act of 1996.  

     "Sheryl is a highly-respected communications lawyer who played an invaluable role in
the General Counsel's Office.  She has earned the respect of many at the Commission, federal,
state and local government officials and the industry.  She will bring to this new role over ten
years of communications law and legislative experience," said Chairman Kennard.  "The
Commission looks forward to benefiting from her counsel as the Commission works to complete
implementation of the Telecommunications Act of 1996."

     Before joining the FCC, Wilkerson served as Staff Counsel to the Senate Commerce
Committee, Subcommittee on Communications where she advised former Full Committee Chair,
Senator Ernest F. Hollings and former Communications Subcommittee Chair, Senator Daniel K.
Inouye.  In that position, she worked on telecommunications reform legislation.

     Prior to this position, Wilkerson was an Attorney Producer for the Federal Judicial
Center. Wilkerson has also worked on a variety of communications and legislative issues for the
law firm of Leventhal, Senter and Lerman; the former Wexler, Reynolds, Fuller, Harrison and
Schule, Inc.; and the National Cable Television Association.  She also served as a Legislative
Assistant to former Representative Timothy E. Wirth, Chairman of the House Energy and
Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications.

     Wilkerson obtained a B.A. in Telecommunications and Afro American Studies with
honors from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana and a J.D. from Georgetown University
in Washington, DC.  She lives in Springfield, VA, with her husband William E. Smith, Jr.

                             -FCC-