Thomas Mark Strama is a Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 member of the Texas House of Representatives

Texas House of Representatives

The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...

, representing the 50th District since his election in 2004. He currently serves as chairman of the House Committee on Technology, Economic Development & Workforce and on the House Committee on Energy Resources.

Birth, Education, and Early Career

Strama was born in Dallas

Dallas, Texas

Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...

, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, to Thomas and Brenda Victoria Trabulsi. He has one brother, Richard Keith Strama. He graduated from Houston's Memorial High School in 1986. He earned an undergraduate degree in both political science

Political science

Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...

 and philosophy from Brown University

Brown University

Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...

 in 1990.

Early political efforts

After his graduation from Brown, Strama worked for the Ann Richards

Ann Richards

Dorothy Ann Willis Richards was an American politician from Texas. She first came to national attention as the state treasurer of Texas, when she delivered the keynote address at the 1988 Democratic National Convention. Richards served as the 45th Governor of Texas from 1991 to 1995 and was...

 gubernatorial campaign in 1990. He then worked as chief of staff to State Senator Rodney Ellis

Rodney Ellis

Rodney Glenn Ellis is an African-American politician from the state of Texas. He has served on the Texas State Senate since 1990, representing Texas Senate District 13.Senator Rodney Ellis was elected to the Texas Senate in 1990...

. During Mark's tenure, the Magazine Texas Monthly

Texas Monthly

Texas Monthly is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Austin, Texas. Texas Monthly is published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. and was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, Texas Monthly chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the environment, industry, and education...

 named Senator Ellis one of the state's ten best legislators. In 1995, Mark began work on Rock the Vote

Rock the Vote

Rock the Vote is a non-profit organization in the United States of America whose mission is to engage and build the political power of young people....

 which is credited with helping over 1 million people register to vote.

Private sector

Mark returned to Austin to found NewVoter.com, the first company to register voters online. Working to bring the economy, efficiency, and convenience of new technology to the democratic process, Mark’s company was acquired by New York-based Election.com in 2000, and helped over 700,000 Americans register to vote online in the 2000 election cycle. Strama was also considered a major factor in the success of the Arizona Democratic Party conducting their 2000 Presidential Primary over the internet He currently holds the franchise rights to the Sylvan Learning Centers in the Austin area.

Campaign Academy Program

In 2004, Strama created a program to involve college students in politics. The Campaign Academy allows them to work for his campaign and in turn, Strama invites speakers to give their insights on politics to the participants. In 2008, the Campaign Academy was opened up to people of all ages, including a 10 year old and a 50 year old, among many high school and college students. Speakers at the Campaign Academy have included Chairman Howard Dean

Howard Dean

Howard Brush Dean III is an American politician and physician from Vermont. He served six terms as the 79th Governor of Vermont and ran unsuccessfully for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination. He was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009. Although his U.S...

, Christine Pelosi, Admiral Bob Inman, Garry Mauro

Garry Mauro

Garry Mauro is an American Democratic Party politician from Texas, most noted for being the four-term commissioner of the Texas General Land Office from 1983 to 1999 during the administrations of Governors Mark White, Bill Clements, Ann Richards, and George W...

 and Congressman Lloyd Doggett

Lloyd Doggett

Lloyd Alton Doggett II is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. He previously represented from 1995 to 2005. He is a member of the Democratic Party...

.

Personal life

Mark speaks Spanish fluently. He married Austin television reporter Crystal Cotti soon after his 2004 election to office. Their first child, Victoria Rose Strama, was born in January 2007. Their second daughter was born recently.

External links

• Texas House of Representatives - Mark Strama official TX House website
• Mark Strama for State Representative campaign website
• Project Vote Smart - Representative Mark Strama (TX) profile
• Follow the Money - Mark Strama
  • 2006 2004 campaign contributions