Meet the Team

Leah Nelson serves as Research Director at Alabama Appleseed, where she coordinates and conducts original research into drivers of poverty and incarceration in Alabama. She is Appleseed’s principal expert on the collateral consequences of fines, fees, and other legal financial obligations and leads our effort to end revocation of drivers’ licenses for reasons unrelated to dangerous driving.

Leah brings expertise in civil asset forfeiture, drug policy and drivers of incarceration to Appleseed’s reform agenda.

Prior to joining Alabama Appleseed, Leah spent five years in the Capital Habeas Unit of the Middle District of Alabama Federal Defenders, supporting the appeals of death-sentenced individuals seeking new trials. Before that, she worked as a reporting fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Leah is a 2006 graduate of Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism, and a 2002 graduate of the University of Connecticut.

Email Leah at leah.nelson@alabamaappleseed.org

Eddie Burkhalter is a researcher for Alabama Appleseed. In that role he investigates Alabama’s reliance on court fines and fees to fund government, predatory policing, and the state’s troubled prisons.

Eddie graduated from Jacksonville State University with a bachelor’s degree in integrated studies. He moved to Alabama from his home state of Georgia in 2001, and while studying at Jacksonville State University, Eddie took a job at a local weekly newspaper. A few years later he moved on to that company’s daily paper, The Anniston Star.

Eddie spent almost a decade at The Anniston Star, covering education, business, crime, politics and winning numerous Alabama Press Association awards for his coverage. In 2019 he began reporting for Alabama Political Reporter, where he covered state politics, prisons, COVID and Alabama connections to the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection and events leading up to the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Additionally, Eddie contributed reporting on COVID-19 in prisons for the New York Times, which was part of the overall COVID coverage that won the newspaper the prestigious Pulitzer Prize public service award in 2022.

He was selected to participate in the Poynter-Koch Media and Journalism fellowship program in 2019, and mentors current fellows in the program. Eddle lives in Piedmont, Alabama.

Email Eddie at eddie.burkhalter@alabamaappleseed.org.

Megan Cheek serves as the Communications and Development Manager for Alabama Appleseed, where she shares our work with partners, collaborators, donors, and everyday Alabamians in an effort to advance justice and equity for all.

Prior to joining Appleseed, Megan consulted in marketing, policies, procedures, fundraising, and more for local organizations and political campaigns. She served as Program Director and Deputy Director for Marketing and Communications for the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop and Executive Director of the Washington Youth Choir, both in Washington, D.C. Megan co-founded H.I.V.E. Alabama, an organization focused on educating communities on critical issues in an effort to bring about positive, thoughtful, and intentional change.

A native of Georgia, Megan graduated with a B.A. in Public Relations from the University of Georgia. She currently serves on the boards of Girls Rock Bham and the Homewood Library Foundation.

Email Megan at megan.cheek@alabamaappleseed.org

Scott Fuqua is an attorney who joined Alabama Appleseed to represent clients serving excessive prison sentences. 

A 2009 graduate of the University of Alabama School of Law, Scott brings over a decade of experience in both criminal and civil litigation to Alabama Appleseed. While working in private practice and at the Jefferson County Public Defender’s Office, Scott developed a keen understanding of the systemic problems in our criminal justice system. 

A native of Birmingham, Scott graduated from Auburn University where he was a member of the cross country and track & field teams. Scott has volunteered as a distance running coach and continues to run competitively on a recreational level. 

Email Scott at scott.fuqua@alabamaappleseed.org

Callie Greer is a longtime community organizer based in Selma. She brings decades of experience advocating for low-wealth Alabamians, for Medicaid expansion, and against the death penalty. Callie’s recent work leading MAAVIS (Mothers Against All Violence in Selma) bridges the gap between survivors of violence and justice-involved people, embracing restorative justice practices to address violence and over-incarceration.

Callie was born in Montgomery, in the kitchen of a home on Day Street. She developed a gift for cooking at a young age, learning from her great-grandmother who lived through slavery. Callie has overcome numerous obstacles, including drug addiction and incarceration. She raised her son Mercury, who had a college basketball scholarship, then was killed by gun violence. At the trial, she refused to demand a harsh prison sentence for her son’s assailant, telling the judge, “I have forgiven him, and I ask that you have mercy on him.”

Callie has a brave history of advocating for Medicaid expansion in Alabama. Her daughter, Venus, died from breast cancer that went untreated because she was uninsured. Callie has testified before congressional committees, been featured in national magazines, and appeared on CBS Soul of a Nation. She is active in the Poor People’s Campaign and has been involved in advocacy efforts led by Greater Birmingham Ministries, Project Hope of Abolish the Death Penalty, Alabama Arise, and the Selma Center for Nonviolence.  For several years, she assisted Appleseed Research Director Leah Nelson with projects exploring the impact of laws and policies on low-wealth Alabamians.

Email Callie at callie.greer@alabamaappleseed.org

Kathleen Henderson serves as the Re-entry Case Manager for Alabama Appleseed. In this role she encourages and supports clients after their release from prison and connects them with community resources and services.  

Prior to joining Appleseed, Kathleen worked for the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles as a case manager in a special program that connected returning citizens to the resources necessary to have a smooth reentry into a new life. She helped build a program of trust and resources while encouraging participants to dream bigger.

 She also served as a Case Manager at the Adam Bishop Center in Walker County Alabama connecting children with mental health issues and their parents to the resources necessary to heal and grow on their journeys. Further, she worked with first-generation, low-income students to help further their education. 

Having migrated from Michigan in 1990, Kathleen holds a B.A. in Psychology from Athens State University and will receive her M.S. in Psychology from the University of the Southwest in December of 2022.

Email Kathleen at kathleen.henderson@alabamaappleseed.org

Ronald McKeithen is a formerly incarcerated artist, advocate, and writer. He serves as Re-entry Coordinator and Advocate at Alabama Appleseed. Ronald’s work is focused on assisting Appleseed clients as they transition from incarceration to lives of freedom. Additionally, he speaks widely about the experiences of long-term incarceration in Alabama’s prisons and the need for criminal justice reform to address the injustices he has experienced first hand.

Ronald spent 37 years in Alabama’s prisons under the Habitual Felony Offender Act based on a robbery conviction at the age of 19. He used his time in prison to increase his education, become a barber, mentor others, and create meaningful connections with professors, journalists, and volunteers in the prisons. Ronald was freed in December 2020 after being represented by Appleseed. Since then, his artwork has been featured in three art shows. He lives in Birmingham, where he works at Appleseed and is active with the Offender Alumni Association. 

More about Ronald, including artwork and writing, can be found on his website: RonaldMcKeithen.com.   

Email Ronald at ronald.mckeithen@alabamaappleseed.org.