After earning a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of British Columbia (UBC), Dr. Lesley Williams launched a career in business, having just retired from playing field hockey for Canada. Her years as an elite athlete taught her to be fearless, work hard and thrive within a team. But the corporate culture of the 1980s offered few opportunities for women to advance on merit. “I hit the glass ceiling with a resounding thud,” she says. Encouraged by her mother’s constant reminder— “You can do anything. Aim high and do it!”—Lesley began seeking a profession where she could succeed on her own terms. In dentistry, she saw the potential for autonomy and opportunity that she’d been searching for. At the time, her identical twin sister Michele, a nurse, was considering medical school. When Michele floated the idea of switching to dentistry, Lesley surprised her with enthusiastic support. The Williams twins began their journey to become dentists. Building a Career in Orthodontics When Lesley began dental school there were just three women in her class of 40. “It was a true privilege to have Lesley, and her twin Michele, in the DMD program at UBC,” says Dr. Marcia Boyd, UBC Dean of Dentistry when the sisters were students. “Both were outstanding students, excelling academically and clinically. At that time, there were few young women in the program, and Lesley and Michele each brought something special to their classmates: energy, motivation, and a spirit that extended well beyond dental school.” From the moment she entered the U of A orthodontic program, Dr. Williams treated her specialty training as both a privilege and a proving ground. “Some think orthodontics is about straightening teeth,” she says. “But what I do every day is solve problems—clinical problems, technical problems, human problems. Every patient brings a special challenge. Each patient requires individualized special care.” Michele was the first to complete dental school at UBC and then attended the University of Pennsylvania to study oral medicine. She was in the first cohort to receive a Fellowship in Oral Medicine from the Royal College of Dentists of Canada (RCDC) and subsequently became licensed as a Certified Specialist in Oral Medicine. Lesley followed a year later, completing her dental degree at UBC, then earning her Masters in Orthodontics at the University of Alberta (U of A), and becoming a Fellow of the RCDC in orthodontics and a licensed Certified Specialist in Orthodontics. Looking back, Lesley views her change in career path as a reclamation of agency. “Dentistry freed me from the then limitations of business and allowed me to shape a career that was both independent and fulfilling,” she says. Dentistry freed me from the then limitations of business and allowed me to shape a career that was both independent and fulfilling. Dr. Lesley Williams (left, in yellow) with her twin Dr. Michele Williams. 29 Issue 1 | 2026 | Issues and People
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