Creating a more equitable society by using communications tools to become a powerful change agent.
Professional Autobio.
Family Background
Dr. Tiffany Thames Copeland is among the 13th generation in her family to be born in the territory eventually known as the United States of America. She is the 7th generation since her first enslaved ancestor was born on American soil; and she is among the first generation of this line to be born in Chicagoland, all others were natives of Mississippi.
Her relatives came of age in the Jim Crow South. Both of her grandfathers were illiterate. Her paternal grandparents were sharecroppers; they escaped sharecropping in the middle of the night to avoid being murdered, leaving Little Rock for Meridian in 1937. Her parents migrated to Chicago during the Great Migration in 1969 in search of a better life; they become successful entreprenuers.
Education was of primary importance to her family. Her parents enrolled her in private schools. Dr. Tiffany is now a second-generation college graduate. She is the first person in her family to earn a Ph.D. from her maternal side, and the second from the paternal side, truly earning the title, "Dr. Tiffany". She is also the first one in her family, post-slavery, to walk again on the African soil from which they stem.
She is grateful for her experiences and opportunities, and for all those--most of who she would never know personally--who fought for others and on her behalf.
Tiffany Thames Copeland, Ph.D. is a 2022 - 2023 Fulbright U.S. Scholar, or a citizen ambassador for the United States. She is currently teaching at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and conducting research in Ghana. She is a professor of communications and the radio station coordinator/
general manager at Montgomery College in the Washington Metro. She is the 2022 recipient of the Faculty Award for Excellence in Scholarly or Professional Accomplishments. Dr. Tiffany was an Associate Director of Education at Brown Mackie College in Miami, and was selected by the college president as the keynote speaker for their graduation ceremony.
Dr. Tiffany has worked extensively in radio. She produced "The Daily Drum," radio news segment airing on WHUR 96.3FM and H.U.R. Voices, Sirius XM Channel 141. She produced,"Taking it to the Streets," airing during "The Steve Harvey Morning Show" on WHUR. She operated as a radio news reporter/anchor for 1340 WJOL in the Chicago Metropolitan Area; she continued news reporting/anchoring for WAVS near Ft. Lauderdale; and she wrote news stories for an NBC affiliate in Miami through Metro Networks. Dr. Tiffany was a host on WRTI FM, a jazz/classical National Public Radio affiliate station in Philadelphia.
Dr. Tiffany has four degrees. She earned a Doctorate of Philosophy degree from Howard University; her area was communications with a cognate in African Studies. She has a Master of Art's degree from Temple University in African American Studies. She has a Master of Art's degree from Southern Illinois University in mass communications. She started by earning her Bachelor of Art's degree from Millikin University in psychology. She has academically studied Spanish, French, and Wolof and informally studied Twi.
Dr. Tiffany is a former Smithsonian Faculty Fellow. She also served on the President's Advisory Committee for Equity and Inclusion at Montgomery College. Her goal is to use her academic skills to understand how the public is using new technology or digital media in the fight for their own liberation.
On a more personal note, Dr. Tiffany has been a vegetarian/vegan for three decades, since childhood. She enjoys bike riding and watching documentaries that spark new conversations. She is married to a Guyanese man and resides in the Washington Metro Area. She has travelled to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, South America, Africa, and Europe, and she looks forward to seeing more of the world, making her a global citizen.