Frances Ford has both undergraduate and graduate degrees in Historic Preservation (College of Charleston, 2003; University of Pennsylvania, 2006). She has had a long-standing interest in materials conservation, and in graduate school concentrated in that area, particularly the field of paint and ornamental plaster conservation.  In addition to her work focusing on historic interiors, she is much in demand for her skills in cemetery restoration and stone conservation, and has been entrusted with the repair of some of the oldest graves in Charleston. Frances is an active scholar as well as a practitioner, and has participated in both national and international conferences.  Most recently she attended the Nationwide Cemetery Preservation Summit where she discussed modern problems in historic cemeteries. She has a long-standing interest in the 19th-century Philadelphia marble mason, John Struthers, and most recently had her research published in the fall 2013 issue of Change over Time.   She currently serves as Conservation Lecturer and Lab Manager for the Clemson University-College of Charleston Graduate Program in Historic Preservation, works an as independent conservator for her business Ford Restored, and heads various conservation initiatives for Richard Marks Restoration, a nationally known restoration contracting company based in Charleston. She lives in Charleston, S.C.