She has taught in the San Francisco Bay Area for 14 years, including 11 years at Menlo School. During the summer, she has participated in, founded and directed various programs, including Stanford Sierra Camp, East Bay School of the Arts, Summer Explorations at Menlo School and the Sally Ride Science Camp at Stanford University. In addition to developing a strong science curriculum, Rafanelli has run teacher workshops, edited science textbooks for gender parity and spoken to parent groups about girls and science. She earned a bachelor's degree at Stanford University.