Jennifer Ragins was born in Washington, D.C. in 1950 and attended Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School, Bunker Hill Elementary School, Taft Junior High School, Bertie Backus Middle School, and Roosevelt Senior High School graduating in 1968. She was a member of the first class at Federal City College (now the University of the District of Columbia), enrolling in the fall of 1968. She majored in community planning and development. As a student Ragins worked on plans for the Shaw urban renewal project, among other experiential learning experiences. Ragins was a member of the first graduating class in 1972, and went on to receive a scholarship to earn a masters degree in social work (with a focus on community organizing) at Columbia University in New York, New York. Ragins has served her community through her career in city policy and planning, working for several different agencies and on many different projects.