Ramy Brooks - Personal History

Personal History

Brooks was raised in a Yukon River fish camp in the Fairbanks and Rampart areas. During the summer he operated a fishwheel, and during the winter he mushed the family dogs. After high school he joined the U.S. Navy then went to the University of Washington before returning to Alaska and married his wife, Cathy. His wife was raised in a dairy farm in Pennsylvania and attended Penn State, but moved to Alaska where she is employed by the University of Alaska Fairbanks and works as the 4-H youth development specialist for the Alaska. Originally they lived in Fairbanks, but moved briefly to Delta Junction, Alaska then Eureka, Alaska in 1997, before settling in Healy, Alaska by 1999. They have two young daughters, Abbigal and Molly. The cabin they lived in at Eureka was owned by former Iditarod champion, Susan Butcher. He and his family are currently living on Murphy Dome Road in Fairbanks Alaska. They still own the 50-acre (200,000 m2) kennel in Healy.

The family owns and operates Kami Kennels, primarily composed of Alaskan Huskies. Kami is a respectful Japanese term for sacred spirits, and Brooks chose the name to symbolize the importance of his family. Brooks has visited schools as a motivational speaker since 1993, participates in Mush for Kids since 1997, and from 2003 has been a trustee of the Alaskan Children's Trust.

He attempted to commit suicide at age 16, and suffered from depression in his 20s. As a result, he began working with the Alaska Mental Health Trust in 2005, in an attempt to reduce the extraordinarily high rate of suicide among Native Alaskans.