Kelly, Sharon Pratt, 1944-

<p>Sharon Pratt Dixon was born on January 30, 1944 in Washington, D.C. to parents Carlisle Pratt and Mildred (Petticord) Pratt. Carlisle was a Washington, D.C. Superior Court Judge. Mildred Pratt died of breast cancer when Sharon was four years old. Pratt’s father played a major role in her life by instilling certain values and encouraging her commitment to public service. Sharon Pratt attended public schools in Washington, D.C. and graduated with honors from Roosevelt High School in 1961.</p>

<p>Although she initially wanting to pursue an acting career, her father persuaded Pratt to attend Howard University where in 1965 she received a B.A. degree in Political Science. She then enrolled in Howard University’s School of Law. While in law school, she married Arrington Dixon in 1966 who later became a Washington, D.C. city councilmember. In 1968 Dixon earned her law degree and gave birth to their first daughter, Aimee Arrington Dixon. A second daughter, Drew Arrington Dixon, was born in 1970.</p>

<p>After she completed law school Dixon initially worked in private practice from 1971-1976 where she was an associate in her father’s law firm, Pratt and Queen. Dixon focused on the rights of children in custodial cases, provided legal representation for juveniles, and became a leader in the emerging area of family rights law. In 1972, Dixon was named a Professor of Law at the Antioch School of Law in Washington, D.C., a post she held for four years.</p>

<p>Former Washington, D.C. Mayor Sharon Pratt was born on January 30, 1944 in Washington, D.C. Pratt is the daughter of Mildred Petticord and Carlisle Edward Pratt. Pratt graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1961 and earned her B.S. degree in political science in 1965 from Howard University. Pratt attended Howard University Law School where she earned her J.D. degree in 1968.</p>

<p>Pratt served as in-house counsel for the Joint Center for Political Studies from 1970 to 1971. From 1971 to 1976, she worked as an associate for the law firm Pratt & Queen PC. In 1972, Pratt became a law professor at the Antioch School of Law in Washington, D.C., and worked there until 1976 when she became the Associate General Counsel for the Potomac Electric Power Company, known as PEPCO. In 1982, Pratt directed the failed mayoral campaign for Patricia Robert Harris. That same year, Pratt married Arrington Dixon, a Democratic Washington, D.C. City Councilman. Pratt was promoted to the Director of Consumer Affairs for the Potomac Electric Power Company in 1979 and then later to Vice President of Consumer Affairs in 1983. In 1988, Pratt announced that she would challenge Mayor Marion Barry in the 1990 mayoral election in Washington, D.C. Pratt was elected Mayor of Washington D.C., the first African American female to hold this position. In 1994, she lost her bid for re-election as mayor to Marion Barry. From 1997 to 2001, Pratt served as the President of @ The Center, a start-up electrical marketplace for Africa. In 2002, Pratt began Pratt Consulting, working with companies and governments developing Homeland Security/Emergency Management Plans. She is also the Executive Vice President for BI Solutions.</p>

<p>Pratt’s past and present board memberships include: the Center For Creative Leadership, the Democratic National Convention, Society for PSP, Emmitsburg St. Mary’s College Board, Opportunity Funding Corporation and a trustee at Howard University. Pratt is also the recipient of the Presidential Award from the NAACP, Glamour magazine’s Woman of the Year Award, the Congressional Black Caucus’ Mary McCleod Bethune-W.E. Dubois Award and the Clean Cities Award.</p>

<p>Sharon Pratt (born January 30, 1944), formerly Sharon Pratt Dixon and Sharon Pratt Kelly, is an American attorney and politician who was the third mayor of the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1995, the first African-American woman in that position.</p>

<p>Sharon Pratt was born to D.C. Superior Court judge Carlisle Edward Pratt and Mildred "Peggy" (Petticord) Pratt. After her mother died of breast cancer, her grandmother, Hazel Pratt, and aunt, Aimee Elizabeth Pratt, helped to raise Sharon and her younger sister.</p>

<p>Pratt attended D.C. Public Schools Gage ES, Rudolph ES, MacFarland Junior High School, and Roosevelt HS (1961, with honors). She excelled at baseball but did not pursue the sport in adolescence. At Howard University she joined the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority (1964), and earned a B.A. in political science (1965). She received a J.D. degree from the Howard University School of Law in 1968. She married Arrington Dixon in 1966 and has two daughters with him; they divorced after sixteen years.</p>

<p><b>RACES</b>
<ul>
<li> 09/13/1994 DC Mayor - D Primary Lost 13.22% (-33.95%)</li>
<li> 11/06/1990 DC Mayor Won 86.12% (+74.65%)</li>
<li> 09/11/1990 DC Mayor - D Primary Won 34.37% (+8.84%)</li>
</ul>
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