One doesn’t just become an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation overnight. Rather, it takes extensive education, training and experience before that coveted shield is awarded. For nearly 30 years, Elaine Xydis Lipka grew in her career in law enforcement until she was honored to become part of the United States’ FBI in 2005 — a role that she still holds today.
Lipka graduated in 1984 from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice. Even at that young age, she knew what career path she wanted to follow. By 1985, she was educated in litigation management at The Institute for Paralegal Training and then entered and graduated from the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, in 1991.
Her career began in 1985 in Philadelphia as she worked as a litigation paralegal. From there, she became a member of the Montgomery County Adult Probation and Parole Department, serving through 1989. Elaine Lipka then worked with the United States Courts where she served as a United States Probation and Parole Officer from 1989 to 1991. In 1991, she became a special agent with the counterterrorism / international and domestic in the Washington, D.C. field office and Denver field office. This role lasted until her esteemed position with the FBI began in 2005.