Shela Norman

Shela Norman decided to follow in the footsteps of her father and older brother by joining the United States Navy. Her father enlisted in the Navy and served in the Korean War. Her older brother attended the U.S. Naval Academy and later became a naval pilot. Norman fondly remembers the early Saturday morning wake-up calls from her father singing "Anchors Aweigh", the U.S. Navy song.

Norman traced her direct ancestors back to the American Revolution and discovered that members of her family were involved in every major conflict since 1765. She was destined to serve. Her daughter, the second of three children, is now serving in the U.S. Army, passing along the service tradition to another generation.

Norman served 26 years in the Navy as a Nurse Corps Officer and retired as a Navy Captain. She had a strong focus in operational medicine and dedicated 13 years to the Marine Corps medical units. She served as a trauma response team leader during Desert Shield/Storm.

Shela Norman with her father and brother

An impactful moment in Norman’s life happened when she was serving as the Deputy Chief of Staff for the Navy Medical Headquarters in Washington, D.C. A tsunami occurred in Indonesia, and she provided medical coordination for the hospital ship. During the chaos of aiding in Indonesia, she collaborated with U.S. State Department diplomats and other international organizations to help provide the necessary support. Her time in the Navy allowed her to travel the world and live through experiences she will never forget. She said the things she saw were at times “awful and amazing all at the same time.”

Norman joined Optum Serve over four years ago, working in capture management. She now holds the position of senior director of solutions and data management for the Veterans Affairs Community Care Network (VA CCN). She is responsible for ensuring all provider data are accurate and that new solutions complement each other.

Norman’s time in the Navy greatly impacts how she approaches the work she contributes to the enterprise. In operational medicine, situations arise that require thorough, yet rapid planning. These experiences have helped her in her current role by addressing challenges through planning and analysis. She looks at challenges through three lenses: a clinical perspective, a government contract perspective and a Veteran perspective. This approach allows her to address multiple points of view and provide a well-rounded solution.

Working on the VA CCN team with other Veterans serves as an automatic kinship between Norman and many of her coworkers. It does not matter how long a person served, which branch they were a part of or what assignments they were placed on. Working with other Veterans who have been through similar trainings, events and experiences provides an immediate connection between the Veteran employees of Optum Serve and helps them to better deliver health services to the Veterans we support.