Brooke Staggs

Brooke Staggs covers the environment for Southern California News Group’s chain of 11 newspapers. Her work has triggered FBI investigations, landed her appearances on national TV and radio outlets, and helped her win some of the top journalism awards in the western United States. The Big Bear native got her start teaching high school English and journalism in Riverside County but left in 2006 to be a student again herself, earning a masters degree in journalism from New York University. She’s written for dozens of newspapers and magazines across the country, with projects that have taken her from a zero gravity flight over Queens to a fishing village in Ghana. Brooke joined the Orange County Register in January 2013, covering local communities, cannabis and politics before starting on the environment beat for SCNG in July 2022. She also occasionally teaches community college and writes nonfiction, with her co-authored book “Stealing from the World’s Best Schools” available now wherever books are sold. Brooke lives in the Inland Empire with her husband and their much-loved pets. Her freetime is filled with traveling, hiking, reading, crafting and scheming about new ways to make the world a more informed, just and joyful place.