Mary Frances earned a BA in anthropology from the University of Iowa, a MA in environmental studies from the University of Illinois Springfield, and completed four years of doctoral work in natural resources and environmental sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She was a college instructor in environmental science for 20 years and currently runs a nonprofit and small business. Her passion is history and culture, focusing on African Amercans. Frances has been displaying her found art assemblages in group exhibits throughout the Midwest. Galleries which have shown her work include Woman Made Gallery in Chicago and Art St. Louis in St. Louis.