He is the youngest of three children. He has two older brothers, Peter and Nikos Pappas. His brother Peter is also a lawyer who worked for the Clinton and Obama administrations. Yannis attended college at the American University in Washington, D.C. where he studied American Studies and History. Pappas previously also worked in the social work field where he participated in 9/11 disaster relief for two and a half years and worked with the mentally ill and people dealing with homelessness for three years with Lutheran Social Services.[2]