Bill Brooks grew up in the Washington, D.C. area, where he was introduced to politics by his lawyer/lobbyist father and from visiting lecturers at St. Albans School, from which he graduated. He studied American history at Kenyon College and received a Master’s Degree in American Folk Art Studies from New York University.

Following a 25 year banking career in Washington, D.C. and the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Bill chose to dedicate his efforts to the non-profit sector.  As a volunteer or staff member, he has raised funds for arts, health, social service, and community organizations.  In Maryland, he was appointed by Governor William Donald Schaeffer to the Maryland Industrial Finance Authority and to the Maryland Governor's Council on Physical Fitness.  He was Board Member and Chair of the Maryland League of Financial Institutions.  In Vermont he was appointed by Governor Howard Dean and reappointed by Governor Jim Douglas to the Vermont Human Services Board.  While serving as a board member, he was elected Chair of the Addison County Economic Development Corporation.  He is an elected Member of the Vermont Community Foundation.

Bill joined the Coolidge Foundation as its Development Director in 2003, where he has enjoyed actively participating in the trustee/staff team of dedicated, enthusiastic Coolidge admirers, historians, and preservationists. A former endurance athlete, completing the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon, in Kona, HI, pedaling across the United States by bicycle in 19 days, and participating in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay Bridge Swim from Crownsville to Annapolis, MD, Bill now enjoys leisurely kayaking on Vermont’s splendid lakes, its meandering, peaceful creeks and rivers.  He continues to devour historical memoirs and biographies, especially during the summers while vacationing at his family’s summer camp on Lake Champlain, now being enjoyed by the fifth generation of Holmes/Ross descendants.