Jane Garcia was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1948. She attended public and parochial schools, and is a graduate of Wayne State Community College. She is a licensed social worker, a former cosmetologist, and a constant advocate for positive social change in Detroit. Garcia has spent decades working for the United States Bureau of the Census, focusing on the Midwestern Hispanic population. Throughout her life, she also worked in Detroit Public Schools; with SER-METRO-DETROIT; with Latino Mental Health Outreach; and has served as a volunteer director of LA SED (Latin Americans for Social and Economic Development.) Additionally, Garcia is active within the Republican Party, and in 1982, was the first Hispanic person ever elected Vice Chair of the Michigan Republican Party. She and her husband Enrique have five children.