By Nancy Dorrance
with photography by Bernard Clark
When Tracy Jenkin goes for a brisk run along the trails at Lemoine Pointe or Little Cataraqui Creek Conservation Area, the fit 53-year-old is sometimes asked what she’s training for. Without hesitating a beat, she’ll respond: “I’m training to be an 80-year-old runner!” That combination of dry humour, pragmatism and transformative thinking has served Tracy well, both personally and professionally.
“A lot of my life has focused on change and re-invention,” says the intense but personable professor in the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University. “I remind myself that when things aren’t working the way I’d like, I can always pivot and make a change,” she explains. “One of the things I learned growing up was how to fail, pop back up, wipe off the dust and keep on going.”
An expert today in the exploding field of artificial intelligence (AI), Tracy has never shied away from trying new things. She developed an emerging interest in technology while an undergrad commerce student at Queen’s, based on a couple of high school courses in computer science. This inclination prompted her to accept the only tech-related position she’d applied for after graduation. Ten years later, while pursuing a Ph.D. in management, she chose to minor in computer science. “I’ve always enjoyed the technical part of problem solving,” she says.
Tracy’s musical pursuits also reflect her penchant for pivoting. A trumpet player in her high school band, she resolved as an adult to learn the cello. . . .
