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Rev. Angelo Mante, Executive Director

Born and raised in Fort Wayne, Rev. Mante returned home in 2017 after nearly a decade in Atlanta. The murder of his first cousin was the catalyst for his return, as his family felt a strong sense that God was calling them to help build a movement of peace in their hometown. Less than two years after his return home, the vision for Alive started to take shape. As Executive Director, Rev. Mante oversees the work and strategic direction of Alive.

Rev. Mante has a wealth of experience working with individuals and communities suffering from trauma and has held leadership roles in both church and social service agency settings. An ordained minister in the United Methodist Church, Rev. Mante holds a Master of Divinity from Emory University, a Bachelor of Arts in Pastoral Ministries and Biblical Studies from Taylor University (Fort Wayne), and a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management and Social Enterprise from Georgia State University. He also holds a Level 2 Certification in Kingian Nonviolence Conflict Reconciliation (our core nonviolence curriculum) and has completed Level 1 of Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience (STAR) from Eastern Mennonite University.

Rev. Mante lives in South Central Fort Wayne with his wife, Marie, and their five children. There is nothing he enjoys more than spending quality time with his family.

 
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Marie Mante, Peacemaker Academy Program Director

Marie is an educator with 15 years of experience working with inner-city youth. She holds a Masters of Education as well as a Bachelors of Science in Criminal Justice. As the program coordinator for Alive, Marie is focused on creating spaces for youth to engage in restorative practices, in order to ultimately reduce the effects of trauma on youth. Trained in Kingian Nonviolence Conflict Reconciliation, she is convinced of the transformative power of restorative practices rooted in nonviolence saying, "this powerful practice focuses on identifying the trauma the youth experienced and seeks to restore the child to wholeness. I believe when youth are taught the tools of solving conflicts through nonviolence and are surrounded by a supportive community, authentic transformation will take place."

Cynthia Gardner, Co-Victim Care Program Director

Cynthia loves God and loves to help and encourage others. She has worked in social work for fifteen years, currently working with Alive Community Outreach in this role of assisting families that have lost love ones to violence. She is also a small business owner of Unique Fashions. 

Cynthia experienced the loss of a son at the age of 26 to gun violence, and her faith has kept  and sustained her through trying times. She has also experienced the grief of losing another son to the prison system for over nineteen years.

As much pain as Cynthia has endured, she has allowed God to transform her pain into purpose and is passionate about helping other individuals do the same.  

Cynthia is married to James Gardner, and has seven children and thirteen grandchildren. When she’s not working in the community, she loves to spend time with her family and friends, sharing love and laughter.

 
 

Chris Lahr, Community Education Coordinator

Chris was born and raised in Indiana but spent twenty years living in inner-city Philadelphia before moving to Fort Wayne in 2019. Chris helped run a mentoring program called Timoteo (Spanish for Timothy) that used sports to mentor and disciple urban youth (www.timoteosports.org). Chris has a passion for seeing Jesus manifested to people at the street level and seeing youth step into leadership roles in their community.

Chris is currently working on his Doctorate of Transformational Leadership with Bakke Graduate University. He has an MDiv from Asbury Theological Seminary and did his undergrad at Eastern University. Chris is the co-author of the book, Playing for the City, and has written several blogs for Red Letter Christian, Fig Tree Revolution, and the Spokane Favs websites. His blogs mainly deal with the issue of racism and what white people can do to live a more just and equitable lifestyle.

 
 

Olivia Sota, Visual Storytelling Specialist

Olivia is a junior at South Side High School and a graduate of our first Peacemaker Academy in 2021. She’s been committed to our peacemaking efforts at South Side and is passionate about the work we’re doing. Olivia is also passionate about filmmaking and plans to pursue a career in film someday. When she’s not creating video content, you can find Olivia at soccer or tennis practice, or studying hard for her next exam. Olivia worked with us closely all summer documenting our second Peacemaker Academy cohort and will be working with us all year on a part-time basis helping us tell the story of our work in the Fort Wayne community. You can check out some of Olivia’s work on our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2wL247dVBbB_fbJ0v55q4Q

 
 

Board of Directors

 
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Tom Beaver, Chair

Tom is a member, and past board chair, of St. Joseph United Methodist Church. He is CEO, retired, of several family businesses in Fort Wayne, including Indiana Stamp and Signworks. He has been chair of the Parkview Hospital Board, past chair of the Fort Wayne Metropolitan YMCA, and a director of Grabill Bank. As chair of Alive’s board, Tom has a particular passion for interrupting the cycle of violence in Fort Wayne.

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Aaron Lane, Vice Chair

Aaron has a passion for personal and professional development and systemic change. His work centers on advocating for policy change to address systemic barriers, while helping heal individuals and families. Along with his wife, Janell, Aaron is Co-founder of Courageous Healing, Inc and Courageous Living, LLC. He is devoted to and gifted in working with diverse populations, creating unity among others, and being a catalyst for community impact.

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Jared Foote, Treasurer

Jared is Director of Industrial Engineering at Metal Technologies in Auburn. He is Director of Abel's Offering, a mission of Associated Churches of Fort Wayne & Allen County, whose goal is to promote involvement in local community gardens and encourage the donation of fresh, locally-grown produce to hunger relief efforts, and aid in the establishment and sustainability of new community gardens. Treasurer of Alive's board, Jared has a passion for creating a space for neighbors to build positive connections with each other.

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Rev. David Neckers

Dave Neckers serves the Indiana Conference of the United Methodist Church as the Conference Superintendent of the Northeast District. Dave has forty years of experience as a business owner, counselor, life-coach, executive pastor, and church developer. With a particular calling to discover, develop, and deploy leaders so that God’s Kingdom can come to earth as it is in Heaven, Dave has played an integral role in establishing Alive as a ministry of the Indiana Conference.

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Ed Fenstermacher

Ed Fenstermacher is a long-time resident of the south side of Fort Wayne. He is deeply invested in the community and has a particular calling to be involved in nonviolent efforts, especially among those touched by violence.  Ed is an active member of Faith United Methodist Church, and he serves as Associate Director of Church Development for the Indiana Conference of The United Methodist Church where he focuses on church multiplication efforts.


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Janell Lane

Janell Lane is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and, along with her husband Aaron, is co-founder of Courageous Healing, Inc. a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization specializing in culturally-centered mental health services and supports. She and Aaron also Co-lead Courageous Living, LLC. which focuses on increasing cultural awareness and proficiency of individuals, organizations, & entities who serve and work with diverse populations through: providing quality equity and inclusion training, consulting services, symposiums and conferences, and public speaking services.

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Aisha Smiley

Aisha serves at the IU School of Social Work as the BSW Program Coordinator. She brings rich experience to our board as a social worker and mental health professional, especially with her knowledge of trauma and its impact on cycles of violence. She’s particularly interested in addressing disparities impacting the wellness of black, indigenous, and people of color.

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Doug Worthington

Doug is a retired financial executive with Lincoln National Corporation. After retirement, he spent many years working with various non-profit organizations in the community assisting them with strategic direction and financial matters.   Doug serves on the board because he believes in the mission, other board members and director of the agency.   


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Lynne Gilmore

Lynne has more than 40 years in the not-for-profit world working with a variety of organizations including social and human services, health care, higher education and the arts. She is passionate about serving populations that lack full and equal access to the things that impact quality of life. Lynne is also heavily involved in Rotary Club of Fort Wayne, Northeast Indiana Public Radio, PBS Fort Wayne, Creative Women of the World and First Wayne Street United Methodist Church Foundation.

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Connie Kerrigan

Connie Kerrigan, MBA, BSN, RN is the Director of Outreach for Parkview Behavioral Health Institute. She has been an employee of Parkview for over 25 years and has held a variety of nursing and leadership roles in the system. Connie has served on numerous boards within the region. Connie has a passion for improving mental health and building a stronger community today and for generations to come.

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Kathryn Brogan

Kate has practiced law in Fort Wayne for over 40 years, having graduated from Indiana University School of Law in 1980. She’s been a partner of multiple law firms and is an expert in employment law. In addition to her law career, Kate has served on several nonprofit boards in the community, including Wellspring Interfaith Social Services, Fort Wayne Dance Collective, and Creative Women of the World. 


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