Nellie Jafari earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Virginia and her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy. Upon graduation from pharmacy school, she completed a PGY1/PGY2 Health System Pharmacy Administration Residency with Allegheny General Hospital, part of the Allegheny Health Network, while completing a Master of Public Health and a Health Systems Leadership Management Certificate at the University of Pittsburgh. She was selected for the 2017-18 ACCP/ASHP/VCU Congressional Healthcare Policy Fellow Program.

She obtained placement in the United States Senate with the personal office of Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) and worked on a variety of legislative and healthcare policy issues including drug shortages, prescription drug pricing, the opioid epidemic, mental health and health care reform.

Upon completion of the fellowship, she joined Booz Allen Hamilton in their military health division and worked on contracts for the Defense Health Agency and the Veterans Affairs Office of Electronic Health Record Modernization.

In December 2020, Jafari joined the Department of Veterans Affairs, serving as a program manager for the Pharmacy Benefits Management Clinical Informatics Office.