Mrs. Williams was also a docent at the Asian Art Museum (AAM) in San Francisco, which is cooperating with The Asia Foundation in implementing the fellowship. The program's intent is to contribute to the professional enhancement of Asian art curators through an exchange of specialists in the U.S. with specialists in Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul, and Taipei. Each year, a curatorial art expert from one of these cities will be affiliated with AAM for four to six weeks. A staff member from AAM or other art institutions in the U.S. will be at one of the designated Asian museums for a similar period.
In February 2008, The Asia Foundation awarded its Margaret F. Williams Memorial Fellowship in Asian Art to the first recipient from Asia. Mr. Yasuhiro Nishioka, Deputy Director Emeritus of the Tokyo National Museum and an internationally renowned specialist in Chinese lacquers, arrived in San Francisco to research the Asian Art Museums extensive collection of Chinese lacquerware. The Asian Art houses one of three major collections in the U.S. and will produce a catalogue based on Mr. Nishiokas research.