'O'lemoh, (Come in!):

My name is Brook Thompson and I am an Yurok & Karuk Native and a Ph.D. Student, Author, Environmental Engineer, Multidisciplinary Artist, and Public Speaker.

Brook is a Yurok and Karuk Native American from Northern California.

Brook's goal is to bring together water rights and Indigenous knowledge through engineering, public policy, and social action. Current fights for her include education around impacts of hydropower dams, supporting Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), and encouraging women and Indigenous Peoples in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and mathematics (STEAM) fields.

Education Brook is currently a 3rd year PhD student at UC Santa Cruz in Environmental Studies with a designated emphasis in Coastal Science and Policy. She studies the differences between spring and fall chinook salmon in the Klamath River basin with an interdisciplinary approach based in natural science, social science, and public policy. In 2022, Brook received her Master's in Environmental Engineering from Stanford University, focusing on water resources and hydrology. In 2020, she graduated from Portland State University's Honors College with a degree in Civil Engineering and a minor in Political Science. To see a list of all universities attended and classes taken click here.

Work Currently, Brook works part-time as a Restoration Engineer for the Yurok Tribe. Previously, she has interned for the City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services (BES), The U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, West Yost Associates Engineering, The California Water Resource Control Board, and Save California Salmon. For a more detailed work history click here.

Author Brook is the author of 2025 Book "I Love Salmon and Lampreys". A non-fiction story about her experience growing up on the Klamath River as a Native American and the impact of witnessing the 2002 fish kill. This is a book targeted to ages 4 to 8 (1st grade to 4th grade). A hopeful story of resistance in face of a disaster Covering topics of why salmon and lamprey are culturally important, cool scientific facts of each fish, how the largest dam removal in world history happened, and how going to college is can help our communities. The book is also written in a dyslexia friendly font to aid those with learning disabilities enjoy the story. To find out where you can order click here.

Honors Brook is a 2024 NDN Collective Changemaker, won a 2022 Native Journalism Award Winner, UNITY 2020 25 Under 25 Recipient, a 2017 Undergraduate AIGC Student of the Year Awardee, and Gates Millennium Scholar, among other honors. Find more honors and awards by clicking here.

Brook has been quoted and or interviewed by...

I Love Salmon and Lampreys Out Now!

BUY HERE!

Social Media Links:

@ Brook_M_Thompson

@ Brookmthompson

Linkedin.com/in/brookthompson

@brookmthompson.bsky.social

Facebook.com/BrookMThompson

Registration in my bio or copy and paste: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdem53QPS9VURV4O-PLB_r8dBcKVFT9zVJzvxmk1Zq74m07sw/viewform

@omsi the Oregon Mesum of Science had experiments I could do as a kid, and it made me want to dress up as a scientist, but without safety googles, I had to use my swim googles and instead of a lab coat I had my moms bathrobe to practice my science experiments at home. Thank you to #OMSI and my mom and grandpa for cultivating a love of science in me where it is now my job.
#womeninstem #nativeamericanscientist #scientist

I was able to read my new book, "I Love Salmon and Lampreys," to my middle school in Portland. Here is a photo of me in 8th grade and in 23rd grade (phd).

Support your local Bookstores & Authors! @northtownbooks You can buy my book in Arcata at Northtown Books located at 957 H St, Arcata, CA 95521 #localbookstore #localauthor #humboldt #ilovesalmonandlampreys

Such a nice letter from a student! The teacher said he just really wanted to write me a letter. My friends out in Portland, why aren't you all writing me letters thanking me for teaching you about salmon and lampreys, huh? Jk.

A kid wrote me this note and handed it to me after my presentation to her class. 🥹💖 It's literally one of the best notes I've ever had written to me despite being only five words. The whole book was worth it for this review. Who needs a large book review when you can never one up this review from an elementary school girl.

Thank you @mrsdalloways for showcasing my new book, "I Love Salmon and Lampreys."" it is truly a dream come true. Ten years in the making. I am so glad that I tried. Just because im an engineer doesn't mean I can't also be creative and work with kids. Now, I have a book where I can talk to kids about how going to college and studying engineering helps me protect the environment and the fish i love.

Thank you for having me @lindentreereads

If being an engineer or professor does not work out, I'm going to keep writing children's books 📚. I did not realize just how fun and fulfilling it is to chat with kids about science. One of the pieces of feedback I received from a teacher was that they appreciated that I did not talk down to the kids. Honestly, I do not think people give enough credit to how intelligent kids are. They are learning about the world and how things work for the first time, and that is a lot of information to take in, and yet they still make such enlightened connections.

One of the kids of a person who purchased my salmon plushie taking it to Bonneville Dam!

Showing kids how lampreys attach themselves to salmon on my plushies and in real life.

So grateful I get to have the opportunity to see kids get excited about how cool salmon and lamprey are!

When the campus hears that, there is a minority in STEM.

Something was weird about my salmon sample today. I did the nutriention analysis, and it said instead of protein and fat, the sample was mainly cotton and polyester?

Bookshop Santa Cruz has signed copies of my book!

Signed copies of my new children's book are available at Green Apple Books on the Park! If you're there, also check out the exhibit on Native California I'm in @calacademy

If you're by Berkeley or Oakland, you can buy a signed copy of my book at Mrs. Dalloways Bookatore at 2904 College Ave, Berkeley, CA 94705

#Ilovesalmonandlampreys #childrensbookauthor #nativeamericanauthor #salmon #lamprey #chinook #newbooks #authorsigning #nativeauthor #waterislife #represntationmatters

Honesty still does not feel real. I am so excited to have my book about salmon and lamprey published! This is a pile of books I'm signing for just one elementary school for familes who bought my book. The fact that even a handful of kids now know what lamprey are now and how cool they makes the years working on this more than worth it!

#Ilovesalmonandlampreys #childrensbookauthor #nativeamericanauthor #salmon #lamprey #chinook #newbooks #authorsigning #nativeauthor #waterislife #represntationmatters

I never expected just how fulfilling it would be to write this book. To see kids be so intrested in salmon and lampreys and see all their hands up to ask questions after my readings is all I could ever ask for.

Signed copies of I Love Salmon and lampreys available at Eureka Books!
426 2nd St, Eureka, CA 95501

@eurekabooks

No offense to the proffesionals and academics who come to my speeches but these kids have really amazing questions. Also now I kinda wish also at my other speeches people would ask me about my cats more.

Ya girls, a legitimate children's book author! Wild. I never thought I would be in this position. Its always better to give it your best shot then never try at all.

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