Speight Jenkins, Jr. (born January 31, 1937) was the general director of Seattle Opera until 2014. Jenkins, a native of Dallas, Texas, is the son of Speight Jenkins, Sr. and Sara Baird Jenkins. His B.A. degree is from the University of Texas at Austin, and he graduated in 1961 from Columbia Law School. He served in the U.S. Army, and later became a music critic and journalist.