Tracey Panek

Tracey Panek is a New Zealand Māori historian and archivist who serving as the director of the historical archives at Levi Strauss & Co. since 2014. She manages its collection of vintage garments and artifacts.

Early life Panek was born in New Zealand and is of Māori descent, affiliated with the Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Rehua iwi. Her maternal family, the Wihongi whānau, are from Awarua, a town near Kaikohe. During her childhood, Panek lived in Canada with her family due to her father's work and later in Auckland with her grandparents before immigrating to the United States for college.

Panek completed a bachelor's degree in history at the University of California, Berkeley in 1995. In 2014, started at Levi Strauss & Co., headquartered in San Francisco, becoming the company's historian and director of the Levi's historical archives.

Panek contributed to the 2016 Victoria and Albert Museum exhibition "You Say You Want a Revolution? Records & Rebels 1966–1970," where Levi's garments were featured. She engages with the public, sharing the stories behind Levi's archival items, such as denim worn by historical figures like Steve Jobs and Albert Einstein.