Meet the Team
Lonnie Garris III, MBA
Founder
In 2018, Lonnie Garris co-founded NOIRGENealogy (NOIRGEN) out of a desire to provide people with African ancestry a deeper understanding of their family origins.
A retired US Air Force colonel, Lonnie served as an intelligence officer during US operations in the middle east. He has extensive experience in intelligence collection, processing, analysis and tailored delivery of finished intelligence.
Throughout his career, he has applied standard intelligence analysis techniques to solve very tough military research problems. He brings that same methodology to NOIRGEN with a particular focus on the analysis of genealogy documentation.
With over 10 years of experience researching and analyzing his own family history, he stands ready to assist others in their quest.
Lonnie holds a Political Science degree from Southern Connecticut State University (New Haven, CT) and two masters degrees from Webster University (St. Louis, MO) one of which is an MBA.
He is also a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
David Wade
Founder
In 2018, David Wade co-founded NOIRGENealogy (NOIRGEN) to help individuals learn about their family lineage in the context of the period's cultural and socio-economic environment.
David is an avid researcher and has been able to re-unite numerous family members including reconnecting family members whose ancestors were separated prior to emancipation.
A seasoned executive, David excelled as a Senior Vice President in multi-billion dollar corporations by translating large amounts of data into insights. David utilizes those same problem-solving skills to navigate historical records to build client's Family Trees.
David began his first Family Tree in 1976 and his passion for science and cultural anthropology has continued for over 40 years.
David holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Rutgers University and a Master of Science in Management from Drexel University.
While at Rutgers, in addition to his science and analytical curriculum, David took several courses and completed an Independent Study in Africana Studies.
