Mary Faithfull recently retired after working at Disability Rights Texas (DRTx) for 37 years, serving as the Executive Director for the last twenty-one years. As a person living with a disability, she knows firsthand the need for and the importance of the services provided by the federally mandated Protection and Advocacy (P&A) agencies. Mary believes that the right supports and services, combined with advocacy and enforcement of disability rights laws, levels the playing field so that people with disabilities can be fully engaged, integrated and contributing members of their communities.

She graduated from SMU before earning an M.S. in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Dallas. Following graduate school, she worked for The Institute of Rehabilitation and Research (TIRR) and served on the faculty of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. During her tenure with DRTx, she provided direct services, advocated at the Texas legislature, coordinated special projects to transition students from special education to community living, and managed the Houston regional office for ten years before being named Executive Director in 2001. Mary believes that succession planning and leadership development are core responsibilities of all effective managers and leaders.