Francine Jackson has wanted to be an astronomer since she was eight years old. Upon receiving her Bachelor's in Astronomy from the University of Illinois, she returned to Rhode Island and quickly became part of the amateur society, Skyscrapers, Inc. She then become a staff member at both Brown University's Ladd Observatory and the planetarium field. She was also invited to teach astronomy at several local colleges and universities in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. In addition, she taught introduction to astronomy classes at the American Museum of Natural History for about twenty years.