Jayam Rutnam is a Sri Lanka born American and the founder of the Sri Lanka America Association of Southern California (SLAASC) in 1973. He founded the Sri Lanka America Association of Southern California to serve the Sri Lankan community in Southern California. He started SLAASC with seven other Sri Lankans when there were only about 1,000 Sri Lankan immigrants in the Southern California, though the number has risen to 65,000 in 2010. Jayam was instrumental to keep all Sri Lankan expatriates together in Southern California so that they had a place to go for social activity. He could be credited by helping people who did not have enough money to survive and made funeral arrangements for those who had nobody in Southern California by his SLAASC.

Jayam Rutnam is retired from his shipping business and currently involved as a film critic and journalist. He is an associate producer of the film The Road from Elephant Pass which was a Finalist Award Winner at the New York International Television and Film Awards – 2011.