Jennifer Shen served as the Crime Laboratory Director for the San Diego Police Department, where she worked from 1993 through 2019.

Jennifer has a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from UCSD, Revelle, and a Master’s Degree in Forensic Science from National University where she served as a Core Adjunct Professor, teaching Crime Scene Investigation in the Forensic Science Master’s program at National University.

Jennifer has been in the field of forensics for 29 years, starting as a laboratory aide in a private laboratory doing drug testing for the San Diego Police Department on a contractual basis.  She moved from laboratory aide to contract supervisor in a year, and worked full-time supervising the toxicology unit while going to National University at night.

As a San Diego Sheriff’s employee, Jennifer worked as a Toxicologist, specializing in drug chemistry and alcohol analysis. She was hired by the San Diego Police Department 24 years ago, and worked as a Trace Analyst, Crime Scene Reconstructionist, and Supervising Criminalist over the Crime Scene Reconstruction Program and Forensic Chemistry Unit prior to her promotion to Crime Laboratory Director.

She has overseen the implementation of a new Forensic Technology Section, International Laboratory Accreditation, the publication of a cutting edge DNA extraction process for fired cartridge cases, and the implementation of a one-of-a-kind ShotSpotter program.

Jennifer is a regular public speaker, having presented in Mexico, England, as well as in several states, and a regular television news commentator.  She is an avid beach volleyball player, happy wife, and mother of four college students.