Her primary area of research is in emotional and behavioral disorders. She conducts research in juvenile correctional facilities and teaches courses at the undergraduate, masters, and doctoral levels. Undergraduate education has been a central focus of her career since 2000, when she arrived to IU. She has taught undergraduates in small and large lecture courses and has organized and supervised trips to out-of-state conferences, as well as one trip to Switzerland where IU undergraduates served as educational ambassadors to a multinational conference on leadership development. Professor Ochoa serves as senior editor for an undergraduate journal she co-publishes with undergraduate students.