Meet Sheri Mancini, MD, FACS
Surgeon. Veteran. Patient. Mom. Advocate.
Hi, I'm Sheri. I'm a general surgeon, a Navy veteran, a breast cancer survivor, and a mother of two. I'm here because I believe healthcare reform is possible, if we're honest about what's broken.
A Personal Introduction
Who Is the “Healthcare Infrastructure” Lady?
If you’ve found me on LinkedIn or Facebook, you may have wondered who keeps talking about healthcare as infrastructure. In the spirit of transparency and trust, let me introduce myself.
I practice acute care surgery, and I also serve as a physician advisor. I’m a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the author of two books on healthcare governance.
I’m here because I care deeply about healthcare, and about the people who make it work.
The Story Behind the Work
Where I Come From
I was born on an Air Force base in Minot, North Dakota, while my father was serving our country.
Military service ran in my family. My grandfather served in the Coast Guard, my uncle in the Army, and my father in the Air Force.
Becoming a doctor did not run in my family. I grew up in a family of modest means, and I was the first physician. After Westminster College, I went to the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, made possible by a U.S. Navy scholarship.
I loved medical school. I loved residency, when I wasn't profoundly exhausted. Surgery was, and still is, my calling.
After residency, I served my Navy time, including a tour aboard an aircraft carrier and deployment in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, caring for Marines and soldiers on the front lines. It was an honor.
I missed my morning coffee in bed. And every time I had to squat in the sand to use the bathroom, I was convinced a camel spider was going to leap out and attack. (Combat medicine builds character.)
The Turning Point
Surgeon, Mom, and the Machinery Behind the Bedside
Life moved fast after the Navy. Surgeon. Mom. Busy.
For years I worked full clinical hours, and I loved it. But over time I felt a growing strain: administrative friction, payer complexity, contract volatility, and the persistent sense that something structural was misaligned. Eventually I reduced my clinical hours and took on a role as a physician advisor, partly to reduce burnout and regain perspective.
That role showed me the complicated machinery behind the bedside: medical necessity reviews, insurance denials, administrative barriers, and financial incentives pulling in directions that had little to do with patients.
Like many physicians, I believed the only serious alternative to our system was single payer. That was the frame I'd been given. But the more I saw, the more I sensed the problem was deeper than a left-versus-right debate. So I started asking a different question:
The Question That Changed My Thinking
What if the problem isn't the people in the system, but the way we've chosen to govern the system itself?
That question became two books.
A Personal Story
When the Surgeon Became the Patient
Like many physicians, I neglected my own care. It wasn't because of access, insurance, or scheduling. It was complacency.
One day, a case canceled. I was already at work, so I finally went for my screening. I walked out with findings that turned out to be premenopausal breast cancer.
I didn't panic. I had an extraordinary network to guide me. I chose bilateral mastectomies, and I'm grateful I did. Chemotherapy was recommended, and I resisted. I was busy, I worried about my hands, and I was afraid of neuropathy.
I did it anyway. I wore ice gloves. I took up pottery. I learned that being bald is a major time saver. Everything turned out fine.
Here's what surprises people: my care was outstanding. Every step of it. The doctors cared. The nurses cared. The staff showed up. American healthcare, at its best, is incredible.
A Gentle Note
If you've been putting off your own screening, please don't wait for a canceled case. Schedule it.
Purpose & Perspective
Why I'm Here
We've built a system where good people scrape for dollars just to keep the mission alive, and where moral injury drives clinicians out. They don't leave because they stopped loving the work. They leave because the values are misaligned.
Healthcare functions as essential infrastructure, yet we treat it like a commodity.
I'm a mother of two, and I think a lot about the healthcare system my children will inherit. I'm deeply grateful for the opportunities that let a young woman of modest means become a surgeon. That gratitude shapes my belief that opportunity, dignity, and reliable healthcare shouldn't depend on circumstance.
That's why I'm here. Not to tear healthcare down, but to protect it, and the people who make it work.
Humility about the past.
Accountability for the future.
A LIFE OF SERVICE
A Legacy of Service
A life shaped by family, service, and the responsibility to care for others. From my father's service in the United States Air Force to my own years as a Navy officer and surgeon, these photographs mark a journey of duty and purpose.
Where My Story Began
Born at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, during my father's service in the United States Air Force.
Early Navy Portrait
Early in my career as a United States Navy officer.
A Career in Uniform
A uniform reflecting years of service, experience, and the privilege of serving my country.
Operating at Sea
In the operating room on an aircraft carrier, serving as a U.S. Navy surgeon.
Service in Iraq
During my deployment to Iraq, supporting U.S. Marines as a Navy surgeon.
Surgical Care in the Field
Providing surgical care during deployment in Iraq.
Service takes many forms. Its purpose remains the same: to care for people when they need it most.
Beyond the White Coat
Off Duty
Away from medicine and healthcare policy, I find happiness in life's simpler pleasures.
I'm an enthusiastic beekeeper, a backyard chicken keeper, an unapologetic dog lover, and the proud owner of a vintage Volkswagen bus named JoJo. The pottery I took up during chemo stuck around, too.
I love old things, quiet places, and the kind of days that don't require a schedule. Somewhere in my future is a little farmette, with room for animals, gardens, and a few more adventures.
After a career spent navigating the complexities of modern medicine, these simple pleasures remind me what all our hard work is meant to protect.
A good life isn't measured only by what we accomplish, but by what we have the freedom to enjoy.
That's what all our hard work is meant to protect.