Sharon Percy Rockefeller.

• Author: Harrison, Joan
• Position: Corporate director of Sotheby's Holdings Inc.

For an opening on its corporate board, Sotheby's makes a winning bid for a longtime leader of the arts.

Arts lover, supporter, and collector Sharon Percy Rockefeller turned from bidder to board member when she was appointed in April 1998 as a director of Sotheby's Holdings Inc. With her long history of board service at cultural organizations, fundraising skills, and deep appreciation of the arts, Rockefeller is a natural selection for the board of the venerable auctioneer of art, antiques, and collectibles.

Rockefeller is president and CEO of WETA TV/FM, the public television and radio broadcasting stations in Washington, D.C. Before assuming the top post at the company in 1989, she had been a member of its board of trustees for seven years and a member of the board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for 12 years, serving four years as chairman.

WETA is the third-largest producer in the country of programs for public television and is committed to showcasing the artistic and historical richness of the United States and its capital. Under Rockefeller's leadership, the station has produced a number of landmark television series, including Ken Burns' "The Civil War," "Baseball," and "The West." In 1997 she was named Pioneer Broadcaster of the Year by the National Academy of Television and Science.

Her broad experience as a director includes service on the boards of numerous corporate and nonprofit organizations, including PepsiCo Inc., National Gallery of Art, Washington National Cathedral, George Washington University, Greater Washington Board of Trade, and Day & Child Care Development Council of America. She is also active in the Rockefeller family boards and foundations.

In 1996, Washingtonian magazine acknowledged her community-minded work in educational and social programs when it named her a Washingtonian of the Year. On a national level, she has been active in politics and, in particular, the advancement of women's rights, a cause that is very important to her. "In the mid-'70s many women's organizations were being formed, and I wanted to be part of the women's movement," she says. She served as a member of the advisory board for the National Women's Political Caucus and as co-chair of ERAmerica, an association that worked toward the ratification of the equal rights amendment. In the political arena, she was a member of the Democratic National Committee and a board member for the Center for National Policy, and she campaigned...