She currently serves as president of The Bernard Osher Foundation, a philanthropic organization headquartered in San Francisco that supports higher education and arts.
[3] She was named director of Hawaii Public Broadcasting Authority in 1974 at the age of 30, the youngest individual and the first woman to head a PBS television station.
[2] She remained in that position from 1980 to 1981 and during that time, Iran was still holding 52 Americans hostages and there was a resurgence of state-sponsored jamming of Western international broadcasters, including VOA.
[3] She is credited with overseeing the establishment of the PBS Endowment Fund and she "grew the Foundation into a robust operation that raised a record-setting $51 million last year [2019].
[3] Bitterman became president of The Bernard Osher Foundation in 2004 and has led its support for higher education and the arts, which includes cultural exhibitions and performances, as well as postsecondary scholarships.