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.