COLONEL, U.S. ARMY
Chemistry Major | Class of 1978
If Old Dominion alumna Mary Maniscalco-Theberge had listened to a negative classmate during her surgical training, she probably never would have climbed the military's career ladder to become the first female Chief of Surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. In this role, she oversees 13 services and 500 staff members.
Now a colonel in the U.S. Army, Maniscalco-Theberge is used to being a trailblazer in areas typically dominated by men. During her days at Old Dominion, she was a leader among men and women, joining the Army ROTC during her second semester and serving as the first female Army ROTC battalion commander during her senior year.
Following her graduation from Old Dominion, she entered Eastern Virginia Medical School. Initially positive that she did not want to be a surgeon, soon after beginning her surgical rotation, she realized it was what she was meant to do.
Maniscalco-Therberge's surgical skills have been honed though a trauma fellowship at the Washington Hospital Center and a surgical critical care fellowship at Walter Reed. She has received the Meritorious Service Medal on four occasions, the Army Commendation Medal three times, the Army Achievement Medal three times and the Order of Military Medical Merit.
Maniscalco-Theberge and her husband, Daniel, have two children. They live in Reston, Va.