A native Texan and Certified Project Director, Frances Arias currently serves as the Vice President & COO for the Green Beret Foundation. Deeply passionate about veterans’ issues, this commitment to service is reflected in her involvement with multiple programs and organizations devoted to empowering active duty, transitioning, separated, and retired veterans and their spouses with the tools and resources necessary to enable success at every stage of the service member’s life.
Previously, Frances has supported the Green Beret Foundation as an Ambassador and served on the board of Racing for Valor; today, she is active in organizations including Women in International Security, Mind Science Foundation, The OSS Society, NDIA Women in Defense, Global SOF Foundation, Intelligence and National Security Alliance, the Association of Former Intelligence Officers, #NatSecGirlSquad, and the Society for Military History. An advisor for the Special Forces Neurosurgery Collaborative and mentor for Girl Security, Arias has also earned the distinction of being selected as a HillVets LEAD Protégé, serves as a member of the Forbes Nonprofit Council and is a George W. Bush Institute Veterans Leadership Program Scholar.
Frances’s connection to the U.S. Army Special Forces Regiment is her tireless effort to keep the memory of her late friend, Staff Sgt. Jeremie Border, alive. SSG Border was killed in action by small arms fire on September 1, 2012 in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan. At the time of his death, SSG Border was a 18B Special Forces Weapons Sergeant assigned to Company Alpha, 1st Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), Okinawa, Japan and was deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom-Afghanistan. The two became friends while in college at McMurry University in Abilene, Texas. Following graduation, SSG Border would go on to enlist in the Army and fulfill his childhood dream of earning the coveted green beret.
Frances holds a B.A. in Political Science from McMurry University and Master’s Degrees from American Military University in Asymmetrical Warfare and Strategic Intelligence. Prior to joining forces with the Green Beret Foundation, Frances worked at the George Washington University Law School, where she worked in a supportive role to eight professors.
In her spare time, Frances can be found at the gym training for her next powerlifting competition, visiting used bookstores to add to her vast military history book collection, and working on her marksmanship while at the range with the world’s best firearms instructors – Green Berets.
