August 11, 1997

               Mary Beth Richards Named Deputy Managing Director

             Mary Beth Richards has been appointed Deputy Managing Director of the Federal
Communications Commission.

             "I am delighted that Mary Beth has accepted this challenge," said Chairman Reed
Hundt. "The FCC is facing a new budgetary process as a result of the Government
Performance and Results Act. We are charged with reporting to Congress on the agency's
goals, policies, and progress. Mary Beth's experience and skills make her uniquely qualified to
steer this effort."

             Since February 1995, Richards has served as Deputy Chief of the Common Carrier
Bureau.  Her responsibilities include the work of the Enforcement and Industry Analysis
Divisions.  

             Richards served previously as Special Counsel to the Commission for Reinventing
Government.  At the end of her tenure, Richards published a report, which was provided to
Congress and formed the basis for a series of recommendations for legislation that would
enable the FCC to reinvent its processes and better serve the public.  The majority of those
recommendations were enacted into law as part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.  In
addition, Richards' recommendations resulted in the formation of the Wireless
Telecommunications and International Bureaus in 1994.

             Prior to that appointment, Richards held various management positions including Chief
of the Enforcement Division in the Field Operations Bureau and Chief of the Enforcement
Division in the Common Carrier Bureau. In addition, she has worked as Legal Assistant to the
Chief of the Common Carrier Bureau and as a staff attorney in the Bureau's Tariff Division as
well as in the Private Radio Bureau.  

             Richards received a B.A. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and a
J.D. from the Catholic University of America. She is the recipient of the Meritorious
Executive Presidential Rank Award.

             She lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with her husband, Jack, and their son, Calvin.

                                    - FCC -