Born in Fort Benning, Georgia, and reared in Columbus, the only child of John and Luticia Smith, Virginia Harvin was instilled with strong educational and leadership values, as both parents were school teachers. She furthered her college education at Tuskegee (Institute) University earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing, and later, a Master's Degree in Policy and Administration from the Andrew Young School of Public Policy at Georgia State University. One of the first black registered nurses hired at Emory Crawford Long Hospital (Emory University Hospital), Virginia Harvin achieved distinction as its first black head nurse. Following a passion for community health care, Virginia moved on to become a nurse practitioner at Atlanta Southside Comprehensive Health Center, and served as an assistant director for an organization that addressed family needs and utilized multidisciplinary home and clinical visits. This service provided a beacon of hope for the community in partnership with the Emory University College of Medicine. Ms. Harvin was the sole nurse on the start up team for the North Dade Health Center (NDHC), which operated as the first satellite health center for the Jackson Health System in Miami (JHS), and was subsequently hired as the first Nursing Director and Director of Patient Care Services. Her valuable experience in family medicine fostered a holistic approach to the care of the individual within their family setting. While at NDHC, Ms. Harvin worked hard to establish community partnerships, and developed policies and procedures for nursing, center-wide quality improvement protocols, multiple liaisons with other JHS supportive departments; county-wide formal nursing collaborative efforts, and chaired the anniversary event. Because of her efforts, the successful innovation of the North Dade Health Center and Jackson North Maternity Center created a plethora of provider programs such as Head Start and Healthy Start. The community partnership was the platform for the first nationally recognized school-based health center in Miami Dade County, The Peavy Model, which extended health and case services to the public schools. Under her esteemed leadership, NDHC operated seven school-based health centers. Ms. Harvin's passion for identifying health care disparities in the community was the primary focus in forming a united approach with local government agencies. In 2007, she was awarded the First Administrator of the Year, and retired from the Jackson Health System in the same year. In the fall of 2008, she joined the newly formed College of Medicine at Florida International University (FIU), Miami, in the Department of Humanities, Health, and Society (HHS) as Lead Community Outreach Coordinator. HHS implemented the Neighborhood HELPTM model for medical students to visit families at their homes beginning in their first year of medical school. Ms. Harvin helped develop policies and procedures that successfully launched NHELP to the national spotlight for providing cutting edge holistic medical intervention, and retired from FIU in June 2011. Her thirst for educational opportunities led her to volunteer as a KAPOW (Kids and the Power of Work) classroom teacher at Barbara Hawkins Elementary in the City of Miami Gardens, and she also built a KABOOM playground project in Lakeland, Florida. In 1994 Miami Dade County Commissioners praised Virginia Harvin by naming a day in her honor.

Ms. Harvin has served as First Lady in the AME Church since 1997 when her husband, Rev. Jessie Harvin, Jr. entered the ministry. She currently serves as the District Consultant for the North District of the South Conference in the AME Church with her husband, who is the presiding elder, and has three lovely daughters, Natalie Piner (Eric), Jessica and Elizabeth Harvin, and four grandchildren, Khari, Jaden, Jordan and Tariya.