Katharine Brooks Ed.D.

Katharine Brooks, Ed.D., has been providing career services for more than 25 years, specializing in the career needs of college students and alumni in career transition. She is the co-author (with the late Richard Bolles) of What Color is Your Parachute? 2021. Her newest book is What Color is Your Parachute? for College is being used as a textbook for college career classes nationwide. She developed the "Wise Wanderings" career coaching system for liberal arts students which is presented in her book, You Majored in What? Designing Your Path from College to Career (Plume Press 2017). She has twice been listed as one of the "Ten Most Visionary Leaders in Career Services" by CSO Research and received the Kauffman Award from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) for her service to the profession. Her free downloadable workbook, Picture Your Career, published through Vanderbilt University in 2020, received the NACE/Chevron Award for outstanding achievement in innovative programming. Brooks is a board-certified counselor and coach.

A long-standing leader in the college career services field, she has directed career centers at Vanderbilt University, Wake Forest University, The University of Texas at Austin, and Dickinson College, where she also served as the coordinator of disabled student services. Brooks has taught numerous career-related courses including "Your Major in the Workplace", "The Liberal Arts in Business", "The Real World: The Workplace in the Movies", and "Psychology & Cinema." She began her professional career at West Virginia University as a school psychologist and rehabilitation counselor working with developmentally disabled children and young adults.

Brooks provides career coaching training and consulting. She regularly presents at career counseling conferences and frequently consults with university and college career centers. She served on the Educator's Advisory Board for Walt Disney World's College Recruiting Program.

Brooks has written numerous articles for career services professionals and students, focusing on the value of a liberal arts degree, positive psychology and appreciative inquiry. Her expertise in career issues has been recognized in publications including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, US News & World Report, The Chicago Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Cosmopolitan, the Associated Press, and CNN/Fortune.

Brooks has a doctorate in Educational Psychology with an emphasis in Counseling Psychology, and a master's degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from West Virginia University. Her bachelor's degree is in Sociology and Anthropology from Gettysburg College.