Mary Gardiner is an Australian Linux programmer who was director of operations at the Ada Initiative, described as a "non-profit organization dedicated to increasing participation of women in open technology and culture".

[2][3] In 2012, Gardiner and Ada Initiative co-founder Valerie Aurora were named two of the most influential people in computer security by SC Magazine.

[6] Gardiner has been involved with drafting and adopting anti-harassment policies for technology conferences.

[8] She was commended for her work to improve gender diversity and oppose sexual harassment in the open-source software community.

[9] She was the keynote speaker at Wikimania 2012, which was held 12–15 July 2012 in Washington, D.C.[10] In 2012, Gardiner was listed as one of the 10 Women in Tech Who Give Back by Datamation and one of the most influential people in computer security by SC Magazine.