Her Career
Dianna Strain is a retired FBI Special Agent with nearly 23 years of service at the Federal Bureau of Investigation — including two decades on the Bureau's Evidence Response Team (ERT), where she rose to Senior Team Leader, directing a team of 40 agents in the expert, systematic recovery of evidence from crime scenes across the United States.
Her operational record is extraordinary. She responded to 9/11, the 2017 Las Vegas Mass Shooting, the Fort Hood Shooting, the Draw the Prophet Muhammad attack in Garland, Texas, the Austin Package Bombings, and the Kaufman County Prosecutor Murders — among dozens of other major federal crime scenes. Across her career she investigated White Collar Crime, Violent Crimes Against Children, and Domestic and International Terrorism, collaborating with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies throughout.
Since retiring from the FBI in 2021, Dianna has built a second career as an expert consultant, expert witness, and forensic educator. She serves as Partner at SageEdge Consulting LLC, as a Private Investigator and Expert Witness at Principled Investigations Group and JKE Texas, and as Senior Adjunct Professor at Abilene Christian University — where she designed and teaches courses in Forensic Evidence, Evidence and Procedure, Terrorism, and Criminal Justice Capstones.
Areas of Specialisation
Evidence Response & Crime Scene Processing
Two decades leading the FBI's Evidence Response Team — expert recognition, systematic collection, and preservation of physical evidence from traditional and hazardous crime scenes. Senior Team Leader directing 40 agents across major federal investigations.
Expert Witness — Crime Scene Reconstruction
Licensed Private Investigator (Texas DPS) and court-experienced expert witness specialising in crime scene reconstruction — providing independent forensic opinion in criminal and civil proceedings that requires the highest standard of scientific integrity and evidential clarity.
Terrorism & Major Incident Investigations
Direct operational experience across some of the most significant criminal incidents in US history — 9/11, Las Vegas, Fort Hood, Austin bombings, and others — applying evidence response protocols under extreme conditions and extraordinary public and institutional scrutiny.
Forensic Science Education
Designer and Senior Adjunct Professor of Forensic Evidence at Abilene Christian University — teaching Evidence and Procedure, Terrorism, and Criminal Justice Capstones. Bringing real investigative experience into the classroom and preparing the next generation of forensic practitioners.
Major Incident Responses
9/11 — World Trade Center
Deployed as part of the FBI Evidence Response Team to the September 11 attacks — one of the most complex and consequential evidence recovery operations in the history of American law enforcement, requiring systematic evidence collection under conditions of unprecedented scale and gravity.
Las Vegas Mass Shooting (2017)
Responded to the Route 91 Harvest Festival mass shooting in Las Vegas — the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history — leading evidence response operations at the scene in coordination with federal, state, and local agencies.
Fort Hood · Austin Bombings · Kaufman County
Evidence response deployments across multiple high-profile incidents including the Fort Hood Shooting, the Austin Package Bombings, the Draw the Prophet Muhammad terrorist attack in Garland, Texas, and the targeted assassination of the Kaufman County prosecutors.