Francesca Rheannon was born in Brooklyn, New York, February 27, 1949 to Frances Alenikoff, modern dancer and choreographer, and Josephus A.H.M. Teunissen (AKA "Guido"), a Dutch citizen and WWII resistance fighter who found refuge for Jews and himself sheltered a young Jewish man named Claus Bock. Her family moved to Mexico at age 9 months and lived Cuenavaca, Mexico until re-entering the U.S. when Francesca was 4. She grew up mostly in Paterson New Jersey after her mother married Rabbi Martin Freedman. She attended the Dwight School for Girls in Englewood, New Jersey, graduated high school 1966, then attended Bard College. She transferred to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, earning a B.A. in history in 1972. From 1973 to 1976, she was a doctoral fellow in political economy at American University in Washington, DC. Rheannon earned her M.Ed. from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in 1990, and her M.S.W. from the University of Connecticut in 1992. She has taught at American University, Essex Community College in Essex, MD, University of Wisconsin, University of Massachusetts, and Keene State College in Keene, NH. From 1988 to 1998, Rheannon served as Director of Western MassCOSH in Springfield, MA, which seeks "to end unsafe working conditions by mobilizing members and give them training, technical assistance and community/labor alliances."

In the early 2000s, Rheannon became involved in broadcast journalism and production, reporting via the radio stations WFCR and WMUA on a range of topical subjects including HIV/AIDS (notably Voices of HIV, a five-part news series examining how HIV and AIDS have affected Latino communities in Western New England), and political, economic and social issues in Northampton, MA and the surrounding area. Rheannon has published articles, essays and reports in a number of professional journals, primarily in New Solutions: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy. She currently collaborates on the show ¡Tertulia! on WFCR and produces and hosts the radio program, Writer's Voice, which airs on WMUA 91.1 and on Pacifica affiliate, WXOJ-LP, in Northampton. Writer's Voice is a public radio program featuring author interviews and readings, as well as news, commentary and tips related to writing and publishing. Host Rheannon also talks with editors, agents, publicists and others about issues of interest to writers.

The Francesca Rheannon Papers consist of audio CDs, transcriptions, and research materials pertaining to "Voices of HIV", a five-part radio series produced by Rheannon and and Luis Melendez for WFCR 88.5 (Amherst, Mass.), 2006. The bilingual radio project that looks at how HIV and AIDS are affecting the Latino communities of Western New England and includes interviews with Latino/a men and women infected with HIV/AIDS. The five parts of the series are: 1) PREVENTION IS LOSING GROUND, looks at the challenges facing prevention and tells the story of one woman whose personal tragedy spurred her to join the fight to prevent HIV; 2) LATINA WOMEN AT INCREASING RISK, examines why Latina women are more at risk, and reports on one woman's story; 3) NEEDLE EXCHANGE PROGRAMS BRING HOPE AND FACE CONTROVERSY, a report on Hartford's innovative needle exchange program; 4) A MODEL TREATMENT PROGRAM, a look at Hampden County Correctional Facility, a medium security jail in Ludlow, Massachusetts with report on the jail's innovative program that aims to safeguard both inmates and the rest of the community; and 5) THE FACE OF HIV AMONG LATINOS IS GETTING YOUNGER, how HIV infection rates among Latino teens in Holyoke are almost three times higher than the average for other teens in the state. Audio CDs of broadcasts of Writer's Voice, many of which are unedited, are also included.

[NOTE: The contents list for this collection is not online. Contact the Sophia Smith Collection if you would like one sent to you.]