| About Us > Staff Executive Director
Olivia Turner is an Alabama native who joined the ACLU of Alabama as Executive Director in the fall of 1987. Prior to her work at the ACLU, Olivia worked on a host of public interest issues in Alabama including reproductive freedom, voting rights, jail conditions, and the rights of textile workers suffering from brown lung disease. She has co-founded or served on the Boards of Amnesty International (Montgomery), the Central Alabama Fair Housing Center, the Alabama Prison Project and the Montgomery Peace Project. Legal Director
Allison Neal joined the ACLU-AL staff in the spring of 2006. Allison’s law degree is from Emory University School of Law, and she has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Southern Methodist University. While at SMU, Allison founded a campus chapter of the ACLU and served on the board of the Dallas ACLU chapter. She spent her summers during law school working for Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund in Dallas and the ACLU in Georgia and New York. Office Manager
Joan Boltz has been working for non-profit organizations since the early 1980s. A native of Kansas, she lived in New York’s Hudson Valley for 25 years before moving south. Joan’s non-profit work focused primarily on literacy and senior services before joining the staff of the ACLU-AL in January 2003. Development and Public Education Associate
Nikki Cox joined the staff of the ACLU of Alabama in the summer of 2007. Nikki earned her bachelor’s degree in finance from Georgia Southern University and her law degree from The University of Georgia School of Law. As a law student, she served as a legal services provider to indigent and homeless clients and interned at the Georgia Office of the Capital Defender. Nikki is the first person to occupy this newly created position with ACLU-AL. Office Assistant
Braxton Harris joined the ACLU-AL staff in April 2009. He is a native of Montgomery, AL and is a senior at Auburn University Montgomery pursuing an Information Systems Degree. He has gained experience from a number of nonprofit organizations. Braxton serves as the President of the Student Government Association, a member of the Campus Activities Board, and a member of the American Humanics Program, which is a national collegiate organization that prepares and certifies students to lead nonprofit organizations. He received his Eagle Scout rank in December 2005 from the Boy Scouts of America. Law Fellow
Jared Shepherd joined the staff of the ACLU of Alabama in January 2010. Jared earned a bachelor's degree in Socio-Political Communication from Missouri State University, before serving as a Health Education Volunteer with the United States Peace Corps in The Republic of Armenia. He graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School with a concentration in Human Rights Law, and he interned with The Advocates for Human Rights in Minneapolis, MN, and Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights in Harare, Zimbabwe. During 2008-2009, Jared clerked for The Honorable Anna M. Moran of the Kenai Superior Court in Kenai, Alaska. JOB ANNOUNCEMENT: Office Administrator/Bookkeeper, November 2011 |
