Staff profiles

Taja Copeland

Engagement Coordinator, Screenwriting and Animation Program

Office: Portage Facility, 204
Phone: 443-885-1434
taja.copeland@morgan.edu

Education:

Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Film & TV Writing from the Screenwriting and Animation Program, Morgan State University

Sankofa Film Institute facilitated by Haile Gerima (2025)

Bio:

Taja leads key areas of the program, including student support, alumni relations, scholarships, recruitment, public partnerships, and brand management. She focuses on strengthening and sustaining a vibrant community. By maintaining clear, consistent communication with students and administrators, she helps address needs promptly while ensuring the program operates effectively

An award winning writer and director, Taja Copeland has developed her voice as a narrative storyteller, telling stories across genres to promote conversations on social construct, existentialism, love, and more. Based in Baltimore, MD, where she has applied her education in the cinematic arts to independent, major studios, and freelance films for over 6 years. Co-writer, creator, and director of Queer Memoirs(2025), which has won The Underground Studios: Submerged film festival in 2025 and screened nationwide. Her latest film, Chasing Memories, is currently in it's festival run and has been screened at 5 festivals thus far, it premeired at the Maryland Film Festival(2026). Her feature film, Running Out of Time(2023) has won 3rd place in the 18th Annual Baltimore Screenwriters Competition. Her short film The Death of Us (2021) has won The Underground Studios: Submerged film festival in 2021 and has been selected into several festivals such as The Prince George’s Film Festival and more.

Studied under filmmaker Haile Gerima, Bradford Young, Alan Ferguson and more for the Sankofa Film Institute Around The Fire 2025 Cohort.