Our Team
Diane Lane
Executive Director
- Mid-Shore & Anne Arundel
As a natural leader and intuitive problem solver, Diane Lane has dedicated her career to serving as the Executive Director of Chesapeake Voyagers, Inc. since 2009. A native of Maryland’s Eastern Shore and a lifelong resident of Queen Anne’s County, her leadership style is profoundly shaped by her own lived experience. This personal journey allows her to act as a compassionate and authentic champion for life-changing peer support systems across the state. Throughout her nearly two-decade tenure, Diane has successfully championed a welcoming, non-hierarchical approach to mental health and addiction, ensuring that every individual who walks through the doors finds a safe space to heal. She excels at turning complex operational challenges into human-centered solutions that empower individuals to take control of their unique wellness journeys. Her extensive experience bridges the gap between grassroots care and organizational strategy, making her a vital anchor for the organization and a passionate voice for those navigating recovery. When she isn’t steering local recovery initiatives, Diane treasures life on the Shore, where she raised her three adult children as a single mother and now delights in spending time with her five grandchildren.
James Carter
Peer Support Specialist
- Mid-Shore & Anne Arundel
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 before 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.
Tanis Duckery
Administrative Support Specialist
- Mid-Shore
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.”
Jackie Gonnella
Peer Support Specialist
- Mid-Shore
Jacquelyn (Jackie) Gonnella was born in Syracuse, NY, to an Italian father and a Native mother raised in the Onondaga Nation in NYS. Jackie is a tribal member of the Onondaga People and the Snipe Clan. Her mother and relatives passed down their Native customs and practices to her eight children, including attending traditional ceremonies in the Longhouse on the Onondaga Nation. She attended Dartmouth College on scholarship and began a career in the financial and insurance industry. She married her (late) Harold Thomas and is the loving mother of their daughter, Maya, who was raised in Easton MD. Maya is a performing artist, currently in a Broadway show. She celebrates Maya and her successes. As Jackie celebrates her 33rd year of sobriety, she continues working on her mental health. She aspires to be a loving, kind, and strong role model for those in recovery from substance abuse and/or mental health challenges. She strives to be a source of accurate information to contradict the stigma and false narratives toward those in recovery. She has had roles of service in 12-step programs, Re-evaluation counseling, Girls, Inc., United Way, Minority Interchange, and St Vincent de Paul. She’s served on the boards of the both the American Indian Association of Syracuse, NY, and the American Indian Law Alliance of NY, NY. She is a member of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Easton MD. She is an admirer of Saint Therese of Lisieux aka the “little flower” who embodied the daily practice of “Performing small acts of service with great love”.
Ara Nardin
Young Adult Peer Support Specialist
- Mid-Shore
Ara is one of the Young Adult Peer Support Specialists! Ara’s favorite saying is “another world is possible”. Just believing that we are able to shape our future into something incredible is the first step in creating a better reality. Ara is queer, neurodivergent, and mixed race/multicultural. They are a cancer survivor, and their lived experience includes homelessness, extreme/altered states of consciousness, and trauma. After attending a WRAP class at CVI in 2017, Ara fell in love with peer support, and recovery became not just a priority in life, but a practice. Ara now identifies as living in mental health recovery and believes that everyone has a recipe unique to them for creating the life they want. Committed to supporting others in navigating their experiences, Ara began working as a peer at a crisis house in 2019. Their love for peer support stems from a strong belief in dismantling power structures to facilitate mutual support that values autonomy and empowerment. In their free time, Ara plays ukulele, hula hoops, and works on creative projects like zines and graphic design art. They’re deeply spiritual, a quaker coming from a pagan upbringing. Ara loves live music, reading, spending time in nature, and their cat, Pasta.
Ripley Murphy
Young Adult Peer Support Specialist
- Mid-Shore
Ripley serves as a Young Adult Peer Support Specialist at CVI. He believes that everyone deserves love, nobody should be left behind, and that everyone has a voice that needs to be heard. As a survivor of physical/sexual abuse, severe depression, suicide attempts, and extreme religious trauma, Ripley’s dream is to create a safe place where everyone feels welcome and nobody feels alone. He enjoys expressing himself through film, music, colors, and he loves sharing these passions with others! One of his favorite quotes is from the book “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky, a work which reflects Ripley’s acceptance of his past and his hope for the future. Ripley feels deeply connected to the universe and understands that this is everyone’s first time experiencing life. “Even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there.”
Dyan Smith
Peer Support Specialist
- Mid-Shore
Dyan is a Peer Support Specialist serving Anne Arundel County. She was raised in Maui, Hawaiʻi, and recently relocated from Washington State to Maryland. As a person in long-term recovery, Dyan’s passion for supporting others through their recovery journeys is rooted in lived experience, empathy, and a deep belief in hope, healing, and personal choice. Dyan approaches her work through connection, shared understanding, and recovery-oriented support. She believes in meeting people where they are, walking alongside them, and honoring each person’s strengths, autonomy, and self-defined goals. Her work is grounded in trauma-informed principles, respect, and collaboration, with an emphasis on empowerment rather than treatment. She is committed to ongoing personal and professional growth and is actively pursuing further education and training in behavioral health and substance use disorder counseling. Dyan’s goal is to offer ethical, respectful peer support that encourages stability, resilience, and confidence as individuals move forward in their recovery.
Abbey Steward
Peer Support Specialist
- Mid-Shore
Abbey Stewart is a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist (CPRS) serving Anne Arundel County. She is bilingual in English and Spanish and has been in recovery from mental health and substance use challenges for nine years. Abbey began working in peer support in the fall of 2025 and believes the profession changed her life by showing her that no one has to face recovery alone. She believes in every person’s ability to grow, heal, and be given another chance, regardless of their background or circumstances.
Outside of work, Abbey enjoys spending time in nature, dancing, and learning about different cultures and perspectives. She believes that understanding one another’s experiences strengthens our communities and helps create a more hopeful and inclusive world.