Lisa G. Skinner is a retired Federal Bureau of Investigation Supervisory Special Agent. During her 27 years as a Special Agent with the FBI, she served in the following Field Offices: Houston, Texas; Washington, D.C.; Tampa, Florida; Seattle, Washington; Knoxville, Tennessee; and Anchorage, Alaska. Her final assignment was as an instructor at the FBI National Academy at Quantico, Virginia.
Skinner’s investigative experience includes: Fugitives; Espionage; Foreign Counterintelligence; Domestic Terrorism; and Civil Rights. In 1994, the Hillsborough County, Florida Bar Association recognized her as the Federal Law Enforcement Officer of the Year. The award was presented for her investigation and the successful prosecution of two active duty U.S. Army personnel for Espionage. She is a graduate of the Department of Defense Polygraph Institute and served as the Polygraph Examiner for the Knoxville and Anchorage FBI Field Offices. Prior to being assigned to the FBI Academy, she served as the Chief Security Officer for the Anchorage FBI Field Office.
From 2006 until her retirement in 2013, Skinner was assigned to the FBI Academy as an instructor for the National Academy. While at the FBI National Academy, she was designated as an adjunct professor for the University of Virginia, and served as an instructor for Interviewing Strategies through Statement Analysis, Analysis of Verbal and Nonverbal Behavior and Investigative Interviewing and Interrogation.
In 2012, Skinner received the Jefferson Award from the University of Virginia for the research she and Dr. David Matsumoto conducted in verbal and nonverbal indicators of deception and veracity. This research was the basis of the class that they created specifically for the FBI National Academy, which combined Dr. Matsumoto’s years of research on microfacial expressions and emotional leakage with the techniques of statement analysis. Dr. Matsumoto’s and Skinner’s research has been published in the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin and in the Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology.
While serving as an FBI Special Agent, Skinner received the following awards:
Department of the Army Certificate of Achievement
Central Intelligence Agency Certificate of Achievement
Federal Bureau of Investigation Certificate of Achievement
Central Intelligence Agency Certificate of Achievement
Skinner now serves as an Independent Consultant for Humintell and provides training in statement analysis and evaluating truthfulness and detecting deception through nonverbal behavior. Additionally, she assists law enforcement departments and agencies with investigative and interview strategies.
Skinner’s publications include:
Exploiting Verbal Markers of Deception Across Ethnic Lines: An Investigative Tool for Cross-Cultural Interviewing, Sandoval, Matsumoto, Hwang and Skinner, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin (LEB), July 2015
Reading People: Behavioral Anomalies and Investigative Interviewing, Matsumoto, Skinner, and Hwang, FBI LEB, March 2014
Positive Effects in Detecting Lies from Training to Recognize Behavioral Anomalies, Matsumoto, Hwang, Skinner and Frank, Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, November 2012
Evaluating Truthfulness and Detecting Deception, Matsumoto, Hwang, Skinner and Frank, FBI LEB, June 2011
Skinner received her Bachelor of Science degree in Corrections and Law Enforcement from Jacksonville State University and her Juris Doctor from the University of Alabama.