Aairam Thomas, Study Coordinator for the Outreach & Training Cores for the NCMHD's Grant for Excellence in Nutrigenomics. He can help FACES youth learn about the many organizations in the East Bay community that are working to eradicate health disparities, such as UC Berkeley School of Public Health, Alameda County Public Health Department, the Hall of Health, the Ethnic Health Institute (EHI), and the African American Wellness Project (AAWP). As the Study Coordinator he constantly looks for ways to allow FACES students to gain experience through hands on work with these organizations.

In addition to being the Study Coordinator for the NCMHD Grant, Aairam is the Executive Director for The African American Wellness Project(AAWP) in Oakland, non-profit corporation dedicated to ending African American healthcare disparities. He also works (or volunteers) as a consultant for many Bay Area organizations that advocate for health equity and conduct outreach to East Bay communities.

Aairam is a graduate of Augsburg College in Minneapolis where he received his BA in English. He had planned on teaching English and history in secondary schools. But, he became sidetracked and ended up on Wall Street at a regional brokerage. He spent just under two years in Asia getting over the rush of trading equities, developing a market arbitrage desk and developing a trading technology analysis desk. He relocated to Oakland from Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2003 because it was too cold and gray. He has a son Malik and together they enjoy the Bay, Lake Merritt, and any park they happen to pass. He occasionally disappears for a weekend if a new PS2 video game is released. He is an audiophile and appreciates all types of music from Afrika Bambatta to Zeppelin.