She studied photography in Maryland at Frederick High School (FHS) with Dr. Margaret Dowell co-author of Addiction and Art (Johns Hopkins Press), while at FHS she received awards from the state of Maryland for excellent photography and she was selected to attend the summer program at the prestigious CTY in 1982.
In 1986 she attended Studio Art Centers International in Florence, Italy where she studied painting with Fulbright Scholar Gene Baldini.
While in Italy she was invited to participate in the international exhibition of contemporary art, Premio Sulmona from 1999 through 2004, sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Affairs and the region of Abruzzo[2] in 2001 the critic Vittorio Sgarbi presided the jury.
She has appeared several times on Toscana TV for the program Incontro con l'Arte interviewed by Fabrizio Borghini, and in 1999 Brooksby was invited among 20 Florentine painters to exhibit at the Fortezza da Basso with the art critic Tomasso Paloscia.
[5] In January 2010 Brooksby was interviewed for the Frederick News Post [6] She is the author of two articles about importing and exporting art and antiques to and from Italy.