About Rodney

Biography

Rodney A. Brooks writes on retirement and wealth and health inequities. His retirement columns appear in U.S. News & World Report and AARP’s Senior Planet. He has also written retirement columns for The Washington Post and USA TODAY and is a contributor to National Geographic, Next Avenue, Forbes and The Washington Post.

He is author of the new book, The Rise and Fall of the Freedman’s Bank and It’s Lasting Socio-Economic Impact on Black America. He is also author of the book, Fixing the Racial Wealth Gap: Racism and Discrimination Put Us Here, But This Is How We Can Save Future Generations. The book was a winner of the National Association of Black Journalists’ (NABJ) Outstanding Book Award in 2022 and also made the shortlist for the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing (SABEW) Third Annual Best in Business Book Awards.

He was a winner of the SABEW Best in Business Awards for his story in Capital & Main on the widening racial wealth. He also was a finalist for 2021 Dateline Awards competition by the Washington D.C. Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and a finalist for National Association of Black Journalists Salute to Excellence Awards in 2018.

A recipient of the President’s Award from the National Association of Black Journalists, he was elected to the NABJ Hall of Fame in 2021. He was named a Senior Fellow at Prosperity Now in 2022.

He is co-author of Retirement Planning Essentials: A Guide to Living Well Without Running out of Money, published in 2018. He is also author of the E-Book Is One Million Dollars Enough: A Guide to Planning for and Living Through a Successful Retirement. He has testified before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging on challenges facing Black Americans, particularly women, in retirement.

Brooks was Deputy Managing Editor/Money and retirement columnist for USA TODAY before he retired in 2015 after 30 years. Previously he was assistant business editor and reporter at the Philadelphia Inquirer. He has also worked as a reporter or editor for The Bulletin in Philadelphia, the Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times and the Ithaca (N.Y.) Journal.

He serves on the Foolproof Foundation’s Walter Cronkite Committee, an organization dedicated to teaching financial literacy in public schools. He served two terms as treasurer and a member of the executive board of the NABJ. He currently serves as chairman of the NABJ Finance Committee.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland and raised in Newark and Linden, N.J., Brooks received a B.S. degree from Cornell University and an executive certificate in financial planning from Georgetown University.

Columnist

Rodney A. Brooks®, a veteran newspaper journalist, writes about retirement and personal finance issues and racial and wealth and health disparities. His columns currently run in U.S. News & World Report and AARP’s Senior Planet. He has also written columns for The Washington Post and USA TODAY.

Speaking Engagements

Rodney A. Brooks® is available to speak to groups of any size on a variety of subjects related to financial planning, retirement, 401(k)s, financial literacy and the racial wealth gap. 

He has testified before the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging. He has also talked to groups about how financial planners can better position themselves to be sources for newspapers, television and financial websites, including The Washington Post. He has spoken at events including:

• Howard University
• The University of Washington Black Graduate Student Association
• The Eighth Annual Society for Financial Education and Professional Development (SFE&PD) Financial Literacy Leadership Conference
• The Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
• The University of Puget Sound
• The Washington Association of Black Journalists

For speaking engagements, contact him at rodney@rodneyabrooks.com

Author

He is the author of the book Fixing the Racial Wealth Gap: Racism and Discrimination have put us here, but this is how we can save future generations. He is co-author of Retirement Planning Essentials: A Guide to Living Well Without Running out of Money. He is also author of Is One Million Dollars Enough: A Guide to Planning for and Living Through a Successful Retirement. He is also a successful ghost writer, and has written a half-dozen other books, mostly for financial planners.

Freelance Writer

Rodney A. Brooks ® is a freelance writer who has contributed to many publications, including U.S. News & World Report, USA TODAY, The Washington Post, National Geographic, AARP’s Senior Planet and others. Contact him for new writing assignments by emailing him at rodney@rodneyabrooks.com.

National Geographic feature: This writer just traced his enslaved ancestors all the way to Africa. Here’s how.

Ghostwriter

Besides writing three books of his own on personal finance, Rodney A. Brooks ® has also successfully ghostwritten a half dozen other books, mostly for financial professionals. To discuss ghostwriting opportunities, please contact him at rodney@rodneyabrooks.com.