Diana Alba Soular is a New Mexico native who was raised in the state's Bootheel. She attended New Mexico State University, graduating with degrees in journalism and biology in 2004. She began work at the Las Cruces Sun-News as a reporter the same year. There, she covered numerous beats, including local government, public schools, higher education, border and immigration, water and agriculture, mental health, and Spaceport America. The highlight of her nearly 15-year-long career at the Sun-News came in 2018 when she was part of a team of USA Today Network journalists whose work was recognized with that year's Pulitzer Prize for explanatory journalism. In mid-2019, she left the newspaper to pursue independent writing projects, as well as to assist family.