Ann Williams is a Professor of French at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, where she teaches courses in language, literature, and culture. She earned her Ph.D. from Northwestern University and earned a Diplôme d’études approfondies from the Université Lyon 2. In May 2016, the French Ministère de l’Éducation nationale named her Chevalier dans l’ordre des Palmes académiques, an order of distinguished academics. She received the 2013 U.S. Professor of the Year Award for baccalaureate colleges from the Council for Advancement of Support and Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Professor Williams has coauthored four college-level French textbooks. She regularly presents conference papers and writes on contemporary France and the teaching of French. Professor Williams has been involved professionally with the Educational Testing Service, including work as a test developer. Throughout her career, she has received several awards from her university and from foreign-language professional organizations. Since 1990, Professor Williams has been an actor with L’Alliance & Co., a French-language theater company in Denver. Professor Williams is an energetic supporter of foreign-language learning and international studies, often using her own trajectory to show students how they can benefit from the experience provided through contact with languages and cultures that are different from their own. In her teaching and research, she focuses on life skills gained through language study: intercultural communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and flexibility.