Nazar studied chemistry at the University of British Columbia, where she earned a bachelor's degree in 1978. She was inspired to study chemistry after being inspired by her first year professor. Her father had trained as a scientist and ran his own jewellery making business. Nazar joined the University of Toronto for her graduate studies, and completed a PhD under the supervision of Geoffrey Ozin in 1984. After obtaining her degree, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher working with Allan Jacobson at Exxon Research and Engineering Company, before joining the University of Waterloo in the late 1980s, when she became interested in electrochemistry and Inorganic chemistry.