Frances Kraft

Program Director of Research & Practice, Foundation for Social Connection

Frances Kraft (she/her) serves as the Program Director of Research & Practice for the Foundation for Social Connection (F4SC). In her role, she works closely with the Scientific Leadership Council and manages efforts to drive adoption of innovative evidence-based models across local, state, and national settings.

Frances comes to F4SC from Weave: The Social Fabric Project at The Aspen Institute, where she led the development and execution of a portfolio of engagement activities, tools, and resources to support the growth of trust and social connection for in-person and online communities. Before joining Weave, she spent a decade in education, first as a classroom teacher, and later as the founder of a non-profit coalition of families, students, and teachers prioritizing relationship-based programs and advocacy to achieve equitable access, experiences, and outcomes children.

A passion to connect people to change systems came after discovering the power of community organizing. A graduate of the University of Florida, Frances first worked in communications in the financial services industry until she became aware of the disparities in outcomes for students by race and income. She returned to graduate school to earn a master’s in teaching from Chicago’s Dominican University. She left the classroom to earn a master’s in education policy from Harvard University and is currently completing a doctorate degree at the University of Pennsylvania, where her research focuses on the effects of relational dialogue on civic empathy and its connection to building social trust, solidarity, and a more inclusive democracy.

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