Mrs. Elizabeth A. Copeland
Elizabeth A. Copeland was born and reared in St. Petersburg, Florida. Her parents were active members in their local Methodist church.
Elizabeth attended Scarritt College (Nashville, TN) where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in social science in 1968 and her Master of Arts degree in Christian Education in 1970. In 1999, she earned her Education Specialist degree in special education from Valdosta State University.
Elizabeth was a special education teacher in the public schools of Ware County and Richmond County, Georgia for twenty-five years. Since her retirement, she and her husband, McNair Copeland, enjoy traveling at home and abroad. Elizabeth and McNair love visiting the nation's national parks, and, to date, have visited every state but five. They have also visited twenty foreign countries, including Siquatepeque, Honduras, where her local church, Trinity on the Hill United Methodist Church (Augusta, GA), supports the Destino del Reino (Destiny in the Kingdom) School. Elizabeth and McNair visited two placed on their bucket list in 2018: the Panama Canal and Peru.
Elizabeth is also involved in numerous community organizations. In the 1990's, she worked should-to-shoulder with President Jimmy Carter to build 25 Habitat homes in Valdosta, Georgia. She is a founding member of Satilla Habitat for Humanity (Waycross, GA), and she remains actively involved with Habitat for Humanity of Augusta, GA.
Elizabeth said that she has included Africa University in her estate plans for two reasons: the university is providing higher education opportunities for the young men and women of Africa who would not otherwise have access; and secondly, the majority of Africa University graduates return to their home communities to be blessings to their communities and to the African continent.
Elizabeth and McNair are the proud parents and grandparents of two daughters and three grandchildren.