Thom Moore was born in Pittsburgh in 1942 and moved to Champaign in 1973 after taking a job as assistant professor in the Department of Psychology. He received a PhD from West Virginia University and the campus award for excellence in public service from the University of Illinois in 2000. He is or has been a member of First Mennonite Church, Urban League of Champaign County, NAACP, Champaign Unit 4 School Board (1988‐1991 and 1993‐2001), Champaign County Mental Health Board, Community Collaboration for Economic Development, 40 North/88 West Arts,Culture and Education Council, Champaign Unit 4 program and implementation committee, Mennonite Economic Development Committee and Director of the Psychological Services Center, which is one of his proudest accomplishments. He helped found and support Oasis Graphic Arts and Our Gang Day Care, which served local African‐Americans from the mid‐1970s to the early 1990s.

Thom was featured in Difference Makers 2010: An eBlack Champaign-Urbana Publication.