He earned his Master's and Ph.D. in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh. Copeland worked previously as Chief of Staff for the Government Services Division of LexisNexis, and as an open source intelligence trainer for LexisNexis, serving U.S. federal and state law enforcement and homeland security agencies, as well as law enforcement in Canada and the United Kingdom. He has also served as Admissions Director at the Institute of World Politics. Copeland has taught classes at the University of Pittsburgh and at Trinity College (Washington, DC), as well as training classes for the International Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysts. He has published several articles in academic journals, and was the editor of a U.S. Army War College book on the information revolution and military strategy.