About – Chesapeake Voyagers, Inc.

Our Mission

Chesapeake Voyagers, Inc. is dedicated to promoting wellness and recovery by empowering individuals with mental health and/or substance use issues to reach their full potential. We strive to reduce isolation by providing a safe, comfortable, and uplifting environment where individuals can meet others in their community, receive one-to-one peer support, obtain helpful information and skills needed to continue on their individual path to recovery.

Our Vision

Chesapeake Voyagers, Inc. envisions an informed community that fosters mutual peer wellness for individuals with mental health and/or substance use issues where all individuals are valued and included.

Our Team

Diane Lane

Executive Director

Diane recently celebrated 14 years as CVI’s Executive Director. A native of the Eastern Shore of Maryland where she raised her three children as a single mother and now a grandmother of five, Diane is a survivor of attempted suicide and domestic violence and has lived with depression since the age of thirteen. Diane believes in leading Chesapeake Voyagers in a non-hierarchical approach through outreach, engagement and mutuality. Diane began her work in Peer Support when she worked as a Family Navigator for the Maryland Coalition of Families prior to her current role. Her passion for advocacy and supporting others with similar lived experiences developed when navigating a challenging system of care while seeking support for her son’s mental health needs. Diane is an active WRAP facilitator and has participated in many trainings throughout the years. Since taking Intentional Peer Support (IPS) training in 2010, Diane has applied those principles and tasks to her everyday life, both professionally and personally. She has an active part in working with On Our Own of Maryland as an affiliate and currently serves as President on their Board of Directors.

James Carter

Peer Support Specialist

James Carter is one of CVI’s Peer Support Specialists and is a person in long term recovery who firmly believes there are multiple ways to recover. Through hard work and dedication, James became a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist (CPRS) and a Registered Peer Supervisor (RPS) while working at the Talbot County Health Department where he assisted many peers for five years prior to coming to Chesapeake Voyagers, Inc.

James works tirelessly every day to help his peers in need of support by assisting in obtaining resources for employment, medical needs, inpatient or outpatient treatment for mental health and addiction. He also helps peers to stomp out stigma and learn to advocate for themselves to enrich their lives with hopeful and mindful thinking in a positive manner by letting them know that they are not alone and that the greatest support is the one we give to one another. “My goal for the future is to restructure the mind set of others that do not understand us and to educate them on how to learn how we thrive in our community. I have multiple awards and certifications but my greatest achievement in this world to date is being present for my wife, kids and others.” James loves to dance and is an amazing cook! Stop by sometime and see.

Destiny Woodward

Peer Support Specialist

Destiny Woodward is a Peer Support Specialist for Chesapeake Voyagers. She has a loving and supporting fiancé, and they have two affectionate sons together. Destiny graduated from the University of Arizona with a BA in Communications, and believes that the greatest step in helping others is first starting with ourselves. She has learned from mistakes in her past, and utilized them to make her a better person. Mental health and wellness is something that can be beneficial to us all, as it is an ongoing and never-ending process. She loves to read and write; it is a mechanism that she will implement in peer support meetings. One of her favorite quotes is from the Greek writer Sophocles, “If we always helped one another, no one would ever need luck”. Mental health needs more unashamed conversation, to create the opportunity for growth. Together, we can grow positive thoughts regarding our mental health and wellness.

Tanis Duckery

Administrative Support Specialist

Tanis Duckery is CVI’s Administrative Support Specialist. She was raised on the Eastern Shore and retired from the Queen Anne’s County Health Department after 28 years. Tanis has two grown sons, a sweet little grandson and a little Yorkie named Louie. She loves to garden, decorate her home, and enjoys spending time with family and church community. “Chesapeake Voyagers has been very rewarding and a joy to work with other peers that have taught me so much about mental health wellness and addiction recovery.”

History of Chesapeake Voyagers, Inc.

Chesapeake Voyagers, Inc. started in 2009 and operated under the name Chesapeake Rural Network through financial support of Mid-Shore Mental Health Systems, the mid-shore region’s Core Service Agency (CSA), now known as Mid Shore Behavioral Health.

Although CVI is a private, non-profit organization, we receive the majority of our funding through Mid Shore Behavioral Health and the Maryland Behavioral Health Administration (BHA). Our mission is to provide advocacy, education, resources, and opportunities for people to make connections with others and build a strong support network to become the best version of themselves.