Prior to joining Cato in 2008, Brookes worked in broadcast and media relations for 10 years at the Heritage Foundation and served as communications director for two members of Congress from 1995 to 1999. When Brookes first came to Washington in 1991, she worked as a public relations assistant at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration at the Department of Commerce.
Brookes is a graduate of the University of Idaho with a BS in communications and political science.