ABOUT INDIA
Native Annapolitan, Parent, Advocate, Listener, Uniter, Game Changer

India Ochs is not just a life-long resident of District 6, but a life-long advocate of Anne Arundel County Public Schools and our youth. Born and raised in Annapolis, India is a product of Head Start, Central Special, Hillsmere Elementary School, the former Annapolis Junior High, and Annapolis Senior High School. Some of her best memories- and learning - came from AACPS’ gifted & talented programs at AACC and the Naval Academy. From grades 8-12, India was active in the Chesapeake Regional Association of Student Councils (CRASC), including being chief legislative coordinator during the passage of the service learning graduation requirement, securing partial voting rights for the Maryland State Student on the Board, and banning smoking at all county school campuses.  Her experiences in school and CRASC - along with all the history and beauty Annapolis and the Bay has to offer - made India decide at an early age to raise her family in Annapolis and never give up on our public schools. 
Experience 
Wanting to gain experience from different parts of the country before establishing a family in Annapolis, India attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, earning a Bachelor of Arts in both History and Political Science, and a Master's in Public Affairs with a certificate in Nonprofit Management.  Fulfilling a goal set at age five, India earned her Juris Doctorate from Syracuse University College of Law with a certificate in Family Law and Social Policy and was admitted to practice law in Maryland in 2002.  

India has never wavered from her life-long dedication to public service and advocating for the rights of all individuals. Since graduating from law school, India has:
  • Served a year with AmeriCorps, establishing a nonprofit in Baltimore uniting youth with and without sensory disabilities through sports and service-learning programs.  
  • Worked as Legal Officer at the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights, coordinating legal and legislative projects with human rights activists in 21 countries, including the right to education in Guatemala, eliminating child labor in India, and combating modern-day slavery in the United States.  
  • Worked as Senior Project Associate at the Pretrial Justice Institute, managing a national help desk in partnership with the Annie E. Casey Foundation, dedicated to juvenile justice reform issues.
  • Worked for the last 9+ years as a Senior  Compliance Officer with the United States Department of State, protecting the health, safety and welfare of 300,000+ foreign exchange visitors every year (including foreign high school & college students and foreign teachers).
Conducting her first workshop at age 11 for a Girl Scout Troop on the Eastern Shore, India has over 30 years experience in public speaking and educational settings, including teaching a high school law class in rural upstate New York and facilitating lectures, workshops, and webinars for local, national, and international audiences.  India is also a published author on juvenile justice and disability issues, including the opening chapter of Stop Violence Against People with Disabilities!: An International Resource (2014) (Forward by Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu). 
Ochs Legacy of Advocacy

Advocacy and inspiring change have always been part of the family since the Ochs clan moved to Annapolis in 1945.  India's grandparents, Dr. Irving and Virginia Ochs, went on a double date with their close friends Drs. Aris T. and Faye Allen, at the whites-only movie theater on Church Circle.  India's father, Max Ochs, founder of the 333 Coffeehouse and former co-Executive Director of the Anne Arundel County Conflict Resolution Center, worked for decades on anti-poverty issues at the Anne Arundel Community Action Agency.  And now India is proud to see the Ochs tradition carry on as her elementary school-age son has co-paneled a webinar on leadership and spoken (in his own words) at numerous Board of Education meetings and County Council townhalls advocating for more teachers and school counselors.  
India in the Community 
  • Served two terms as Hillsmere PTA president and four years as the PTA advocacy chair. India also helped re-established the Hillsmere school newspaper, supported the annual musical, and assisted in establishing a 3rd Vice President for the PTA focused on equity and diversity. 
  • Served as member of US Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 23-03 since 2005, including acting as Flotilla Officer on Diversity (2013-present) and Flotilla Officer for Communication Services (2006-2017).
  • Active Member of the county chapters of NAACP and Showing Up for Racial Justice.
  • On the national and international level, India has led six Boards of Directors, including as Vice President of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication and Chair of the national disability civil rights nonprofit Communication First. India has also served the past eight years as co-chair of her employer's first Work-Life-Wellness Committee. 
Snapshot of AACPS Advocacy
High-quality public education is a right. 
We must fight so that every single student attending an AACPS public school has an equal opportunity to succeed.

WHY THE RIGHT TO QUALITY EDUCATION IS CRITICAL  
The right to education is not just a human right, but essential for the exercise of all other human rights.  Every individual, irrespective of race, gender, nationality, ethnic or social origin, religion or political preference, age or disability, should be entitled to a free education.

Education is a powerful tool that economically and socially marginalized children (and adults) can use to lift themselves out of poverty and participate fully as citizens.  We MUST fight so that every single student attending an AACPS public school has an equal opportunity to succeed.