Meet the Team

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. Megan and her husband currently reside in the Birmingham area with their three spirited children.

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

Alex LaGanke is Alabama Appleseed’s Staff Attorney. She is a 2020 graduate of Cumberland School of Law and UAB’s JD-MPA joint degree program. Originally from Cullman, Alabama, Alex moved to Birmingham to attend UAB and graduated with bachelor’s degree in International Studies in 2015.

Since moving to Birmingham in 2011, Alex has taken part in community development work as a junior board member, board member, consultant, and volunteer for various local nonprofits addressing systemic poverty and hunger, homelessness, mental health rehabilitation, access to justice, illiteracy, human trafficking, youth education support and job training, voting restoration, domestic violence, and child abuse and neglect. As an advocate for applying best business practices to nonprofit administration, she has been trained by the Alabama Association of Nonprofits in Standards for Excellence® as a former AAN Excellence Intern.

Since graduating from college, Alex has worked as a program coordinator at a local Adult Basic Education center, which amplified her desire to engage in legal reform efforts. She has also worked for Legal Services of Alabama, Baker Donelson as a pro bono fellow, the Bessemer District Attorney’s Office, the EEOC mediation and hearings departments, and the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Alabama as a judicial extern. Additionally, Alex currently sits on the board for CASA of Jefferson County, where she has also volunteered as a CASA for four years.

Email Alex at alex.laganke@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.