Dr. Melani S. Cheers is a seasoned and dynamic senior physician executive with leadership experience spanning clinical practice, corporate medical management, population health strategy, and healthcare consulting. She currently serves as corporate medical director at United States Steel Corporation, a role she assumed at the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic. In this capacity, Dr. Cheers has led the organization’s health services through transformative public health challenges, championing a workplace culture rooted in safety and caring.

Prior to joining U. S. Steel, Dr. Cheers served as director of health services at RUSM and held clinical roles as an associate physician within the Brigham and Women’s Hospital system and as an attending physician for the Allegheny Health Network. Dr. Cheers earned her undergraduate degree in anthropology and biology from Mount Holyoke College, completed post-baccalaureate studies at Carnegie Mellon University, and received her Doctor of Medicine from Washington University in St. Louis. Her clinical foundation is in emergency medicine, having completed residency at the University of Pittsburgh. She also holds a Master of Public Health from the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.

Her strategic leadership extends beyond clinical care to include population health management as she has integrated health management into comprehensive benefit plans, fostered cultures of preventive care, and improved employee health outcomes and medical cost efficiency. Her approach blends evidence-based clinical insight with practical implementation, earning trust from clients and colleagues alike. Dr. Cheers is a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians (FACEP) and has been inducted into both the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. She is passionate about advancing community health, mentoring future leaders, and championing sustainability as a vital component of long-term public health.