Frances received her Bachelor's Degree in Music Education from Oberlin College, and earned her Master's Degree in Cello Performance from the University of Illinois. She is a member of the American Federation of Musicians, the Suzuki Association of the Americas, the American String Teachers Association, Music Educators National Conference, and Pi Kappa Lambda. She has received an Academic Alumni Award in service to Oberlin College, an Executive Committe Award for Outstanding Service to The Conservatory, and has been listed in Who's Who of American Women, Who's Who in the Midwest, Who's Who in Entertainment, and International Who's Who of PRofessional and Business Women. She was also listed in Outstanding Young Women of America.

She began her career as a music teacher in El Salvador as a Peace Corps volunteer, where she established its first Suzuki program. She studied string pedagogy under Paul Rolland, and attended two Rolland International String Workshops in Europe. She has since served on the faculty of the Paul Rolland String Workshop at the U of I, and has studied and observed Suzuki teaching both in Japan and in various workshops and programs in the United States .

Frances has had articles published in Music Educators Journal, American String Teacher, Suzuki World, and Oberlin Alumni Magazine. She has been an instructor at Illinois Summer Youth Music (ISYM), a Suzuki Festival Guild Clinician, and a faculty member at both the Suzuki Institute and the National Academy of the Arts.