Michele "Mitzi" Manning was born 15 June 1943 in Washington, D.C. Manning's father was a U.S. Marine stationed in the Pacific and her mother worked for the U.S. Census Bureau.

When she was about six years old, the Manning family moved to Wayne, Michigan, where her father had grown up. After graduating from high school, Manning attended Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, and upon graduating, began a teaching position in Taylor Township, Michigan.

During the late 1960s, when the American Federation of Teachers executed a strike and walk-out, Manning decided to resign her teaching position and traveled to California for a few weeks, before heading to her grandmother's residence in South Carolina. In need of work, Manning took a job book-keeping for a shirt factory for a short time, before securing a teaching position at Winyah High School in Georgetown, South Carolina, where she taught for three years and coached the girls' basketball and track teams.

When a guidance counselor position became available, Manning was interested, but needed more graduate school hours, so, with the offer of an assistantship, she began attending Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina, with the intention of returning to Georgetown and Winyah High School. While attending Winthrop University, Manning was approached by a U.S. Marine Corps recruiter. When asked why he was recruiting at a predominantly girls' school, the recruiter said he needed one woman to sign up. Manning was past the age limit to join, so she began directing potential recruits to him. However, no one signed up and the recruiter eventually asked Manning to take the recruitment test and mentioned there were age waivers.Although she had plans to return to Georgetown, Manning took the test and whenthe recruiter showed her how much more money she would be making as a Marine, Manning decided to sign-up.

In 1972, Manning graduated from Winthrop University and began United States Marine Corps Recruit Training at U.S. Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia. A week before graduating, Manning learned she had been selected for honor graduate. In 1973, Manning was assigned as the executive officer of the Women Officer's School in their Permanent Personnel Company and sent to an all-male air station to be the adjutant for one of the squadrons.

In 1974, Manning received a phone call from a U.S. Marine Corps detailer, inquiring if she would like orders to Germany, but Manning had already decided she wanted to go to Parris Island, S.C. for Survival, Evasion, Residence, and Escape (SERE) training. After two and a half years, Manning received a request to come to Headquarters Marine Corps at the Pentagon and take over the Woman Marine Company, as they were disestablishing the company and wanted her to do it. Feeling as if she had already been working so hard at Parris Island, Manning decided to resign her commission and enter the Reserves.

In 1977, Manning traveled to Vista, California and began a job writing the Standard Operating Procedures for a fire department; they had been looking for someone with military experience. In early 1978, Manning received a phone call from Headquarters Marine Corps expressing their disappointment at her leaving, but mentioned she might be able to submit an augmentation package and get back on active duty. Manning submitted her package and received a letter offering her a five-year standard agreement instead of augmentation, since she had resigned her commission and one of the majors wanted her to earn the augment.

In 1978, Manning received orders to the 4th Light Anti-Aircraft Missile (LAAM) Battalion in Fresno, California. When she reported with her orders, Manning was told the Battalion didn't have women, but the colonel allowed her to stay because he needed help in administration and thought she would be able to help them get through inspection. While in California, Manning had the opportunity to fire missiles at Vandenberg Air Force Base, in Santa Barbara County, and Fort Irwin National Training Center, in San Bernardino County.

In 1981, Manning received yet another phone call, requesting she come to Headquarters Marine Corps to be the Graduate Education Coordinator for the entire U.S. Marine Corps, since she had a Master's in Education degree. She was assigned to the Manpower Management Officer Assignments (MMOA-3), Officer Assignment Branch, where her duties included delegating joint billets and military school assignments, as well as running the promotion boards. She was also promoted to major while stationed here.

After thirty-nine months at Headquarters Marine Corps, Manning was selected for Command and Staff College and spent a year at Quantico, working alongside servicemembers from other branches, as well as servicemembers from other countries, including Japan and Mexico, to learn about cooperation and coordination between different services and countries. She was one of only two women selected for the training. In 1986, after graduating from Command and Staff College, Manning received orders to 3rd Marine Division in Okinawa, Japan, were she was assigned as the G-1, General Administrative Staff, doing mostly personnel work, helping to supply generals with personnel for exercises.

While in Japan, Manning joined the Hash House Harriers, a non-competitive running group, where she made great friends, both American and Japanese, civilian and military. In July 1986, Manning received orders to Camp Pendleton, in California, where she was assigned as the adjutant to the air station and put in charge of administration and personnel. Manning was also tasked with creating a squadron infrastructure, where she built a Table of Organization and Equipment (TOE), laying out the specified organization, staffing, and equipment of units. Manning was then selected to command the TOE, since she had created it, and sent to Washington, D.C. with the 5400 Bulletin she had produced, which directs the activation, deactivation, re-designation, reorganization, or relocation of units. It was approved.

In 1988, Manning received orders to U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command Norfolk, Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic, where she was assigned as the adjutant of the force. While in Norfolk, Manning was promoted to lieutenant colonel. In 1990, Manning was selected for a one-year program at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, where she had the opportunity to build close relationships with people from other services.

In her free time, Manning went to jazz and folk festivals, started a Hash House Harrier group, and earned a Master of Arts degree in International and Strategic Studies. Manning then received orders back to Headquarters Marine Corps, working in the same office as she had previously, and was made the head of Manpower Management Officer Assignments, where she made sure that marine officers who were going to be generals had had the required joint tours to be promoted.

In 1993, the general for Plans, Policies, and Operations (PP&O), General H. C. Stackpole III, asked Manning to accompany him to Hawaii and be his G-1; a place Manning had been wanting to be stationed since the beginning of her military career. She was assigned to U.S. Marine Corps Camp H. M. Smith, headquarters of U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific, and was responsible for the assignment of Department of Defense schools, as well as Reserve augmentation for military exercises held in the Pacific, giving her the ability to deploy to Korea for various exercises.

While in Hawaii, she was promoted to colonel. She requested her parents attend the promotion ceremony, where her father pinned on one of her Eagles. In 1995, Manning was selected for U.S. Military Entrance Processing Command (USMEPCOM) in Denver, Colorado. She had thirty-two subordinates in twenty-five states west of the Mississippi, traveling, on average, for two years, to two different Military Entrance Processing (MEP) stations a week, providing counseling for the recruit commanders and recruiting officers. As a colonel, she was also tasked with swearing-in new recruits. After two years, Manning contemplated extending for another year, but was told her replacement had already been chosen.

In 1997, Manning was selected as Secretary of the Joint Staff at the Pentagon, where she met once a week with the operations deputies of each service and took the meeting minutes, some of which was highly classified. In 1999, during her last year in the service, Manning began getting very active with her United Methodist Church in Alexandria, Virginia, and participated in a thirty-two-week night course called "Disciple." When others in the course told her she had a "gift of encouragement," Manning began to think about becoming a hospital chaplain, and spoke with a friend who was in seminary. She then decided to apply to the Clinical Pastoral Education Program at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C., as well as an application to take a counseling class at Wesley Theological Seminary; she received both acceptance letters the same day and thought it was a signal to sign-up. Manning retired from the United States Marine Corps in 1999, started the first counseling class the following day, and with the Clinical Pastoral Education a few days after that.

By the time the summer was over, Manning knew she wanted to enroll in seminary fulltime. After three years of seminary, Manning graduated in 2003. In 2004, she went before the ordination board to be commissioned in the Methodist Church, and after a three-year probationary period, Manning was ordained in 2007.

From 1999 to 2012, when she retired from the ministry, Manning was the older adult pastor at Fairlington Methodist Church in Alexandria, Virginia. She currently volunteers at the Veterans Administration and Hospice.