Mary Novotny is a nurse, educator and consultant who has dedicated the majority of her life to working with and for persons with disabilities. A survivor of childhood cancer, Mary became an amputee in her early teens after which she earned a Bachelor's degree in nursing. She is married and has two children in her hometown of Chicago. It was there she founded Families & Amputees In Motion (FAIM), a support group while working in clinical orthopedics.

In 1979 she completed her master's degree in education and began consulting for a wide variety of agencies and coordinated numerous projects including a scientific exhibit on "Prosthetics" for the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. Mary has also developed several educational videos, numerous patient educational materials and presented hundreds of lectures to professionals, consumers and community groups.

As the leader of the Amputee Coalition of America (ACA) from 1986-99, Mary developed two cooperative agreements with the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). The first established the National Limb Loss Information Center (NLLIC) in 1997 and the second initiated a project on Limb Loss Research with ACA and Johns Hopkins University in 1999.

Currently Mary is consulting on educational and advocacy projects as well as serving as an advisor to several agencies.