Diana received her master’s degree in history and geography from San Diego State University. Her thesis was subsequently published as “Our Historic Desert” by Copley Books in 1973. A few years later, she co-authored “The Anza-Borrego Desert Region,” a guidebook to the area published by Wilderness Press in 1978, now it its 6th edition. Among her many other books that she has written or edited are Anza-Borrego A to Z: People, Places, and Things (2001); Marshal South and the Ghost Mountain Chronicles (2005); Ricardo Breceda: Accidental Artist (2012); Coast to Cactus: The Canyoneer Trail Guide to San Diego Outdoors (2016); and A Natural History of the Anza-Borrego Region: Then and Now (2020). Ricardo Breceda and Coast to Cactus have both been recognized in national awards contests.

She was awarded the Medallion Award from the State of California for her 30 years of volunteer work on behalf of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and was named a Lifetime Member in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Botany Society based on her vision and leadership skills and creating excellence in education. She also served as a trustee for the San Diego Natural History Museum.