Episode 49: Mark Nair - Democratic Candidate for the US 13th Congressional District
In episode 49, Tonya Kleuskens is talking with Mark Nair the Democratic Candidate for Texas 13th Congressional District.
The League of Women Voters has a 106-year commitment to non-partisan voting advocacy in the United States. We educate voters on how to register, where to vote, who is on the ballot and the public policy’s being discussed, supported or challenged in the voting cycle that we are in. We believe that educated voters are the bedrock of our democracy!
After discussion with our co-Presidents of the Amarillo LWV, I agreed to only extend invitations to the candidates for our US Congressional District 13, after the deadline for responding to the LWV Amarillo Candidates Forum, that deadline was September 21st. When it became clear that we are not having both candidates for our Forum, I sent an email invitation to both Representative Ronny Jackson and Candidate Mark Nair on September 23rd. Looking ahead to our ability to get these episodes published before early voting begins, I ask that each candidate let us know by September 28th. I also offered two dates for recording, September 29th and 30th.
Mark Nair responded quickly reserving September 30th for this episode. When I had not heard from Representative Jackson on September 28th, I called his Amarillo office to verify that they had received the invitation and Daniel passed the information to Evelyn Coleman, who responded to my invitation that day, September 28th at 6:15pm, saying that Representative Jackson was unable to make it happen, because of previous commitments. Both the invitation and responses are provided in Dive Deeper for your review! Out of caution and respect, the email address portion of the emails are intentionally excluded.
Representative Jackson has answered the questions asked of both candidates for publishing in the League of Women Voters Amarillo, Voters Guide. Watch for a copy at local libraries, grocery stores and coffee shops, but if you miss their availability, you can read the Voters Guide on Vote411.org, along with candidates’ responses from the additional races on our ballot. Remember Vote411.org
Mark Nair is a senior member of the National Academy of Inventors, a mentor for the Texas Tech Innovation Hub, a National Science Foundation iCorp mentor, and has an extensive patent portfolio on a variety of innovative technologies. He previously served on the Amarillo City Council.
Mark is a co-founder of Giant Atom Inc., Bicycle Guy Studios, MusicGram, and Oasis Microgrids. As president of Redigi, Inc, he built the world’s first used digital marketplace. Mark has taught micro and macroeconomics, app development, and web development at the college level and won the faculty excellence award at Amarillo College in 2020. He has also produced one of the internet’s earliest and largest live-streaming events for Nick Lachey and 98 Degrees, as well as producing innovative digital marketing campaigns for Willie Nelson, Stephen King, and many other well-known artists. He’s worked with Thomas Dolby and Headspace Labs on the design of early polyphonic ringtones; he worked with Nokia in Helsinki on content for their early digital smartphone prototypes; and he collaborated with Phillips Electronics in Eindhoven on smart audio waveform interpretation for digital compression and has worked with Quanta in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Shenzhen, China to design a new type of e-book reader, based on dynamic LCD light-sensitive displays.
Mark has been a member of the San Antonio Arts and Grants Commission, a board member of the Don Harrington Discovery Center, Wildcat Bluff Nature Center, Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Amarillo Adult Literacy Council, Panhandle 20/Twenty, Haven Health Clinics, the Amarillo Little Theater, Storybridge, the Humane Society, and Mariposa Community Land Trust. Mark has been invited to speak for a variety of panels and institutions including: the National Association of Broadcasters, QuickTime Live, the Consumer Electronics Show, Texas Tech University, Rice University. He has spoken about music and interactivity at the South by Southwest conference, postmodern literature and art at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the abstraction of modern American literature and science at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, and quantum mechanics at the Hong Kong science museum. He currently lives in Texas with his wife and three children. He enjoys languages and speaks German and Mandarin, as well as, sometimes, but just a tiny bit, English.
DIVE DEEPER!
On Sep 23, 2026 at 10:10:52 AM, Tonya wrote:
Texas’s 13th Congressional District
Representative Ronny Jackson
Candidate Mark Nair
Dear Representative Jackson and Mr. Nair:
In support of the League of Women Voters’ commitment to voter education, I am pleased to invite each of you to appear individually as a guest on the Amarillo League of Women Voters’ podcast, Lone Star Deep Dive. Recording times are available on September 29 and September 30 at 4:00 p.m. Guests may participate remotely via Zoom if preferred. The first person to respond will receive their preferred date.
Episodes are recorded and published in the order in which they are completed. We hope to publish both interviews in early October, before early voting begins. Please respond by September 28, 2026, to confirm your interest and preferred recording date.
You were both invited to the October 15th Candidates Forum in Amarillo, Texas. If you have not responded, we hope you will recognize how important it is for informed voters to hear from the candidates representing our district. The same is true for our podcast, we would like to have you both.
In Appreciation,
Tonya Kleuskens
Host, Lone Star Deep Dive Podcast
Sponsored by League of Women Voters Amarillo
From: Evelyn Coleman
Date: September 28, 2026 at 6:16:29 PM CDT
To: Tonya Kleuskens
Subject: Lone Star Deep Dive Podcast Guest InvitationGood afternoon, Tonya,
Thank you for reaching out - it's great to connect!
Unfortunately, Rep. Jackson is unable make it happen this time due to previously scheduled commitments.
Don't hesitate to reach out with future opportunities! My cell is below.
Best,
Evelyn
September 23, 2026 @ 4:06PM
Hi Tonya,
Thank you so much for the invitation.
I’ll be in Denton on those days, so I’ll have to join remotely. I’d like to choose September 29 at 4:00.
Thank you again!
- Mark
Listen to full episode now.