[1] Prior to her election as MLA, Cochrane served as a Councillor on Castlereagh Borough Council between 2005 and 2011 and worked in the Department for Social Development and as a Management Consultant for SMEs in Northern Ireland.

[1] During her term at Stormont, Cochrane sat on the Finance and Personnel Committee and was a member of the Assembly Commission.

[4] In addition to her duties at Stormont, Cochrane ran her own constituency office on the Upper Newtownards Road in Ballyhackamore.

[1] Cochrane chose not to seek reelection, and stood down ahead of the Northern Ireland Assembly election in 2016, Former MLA and MP for East Belfast Naomi Long replaced her on the ballot.

The family reside in East Belfast and actively attend Bloomfield Presbyterian Church.