She studies policy interventions aimed at reducing crime and improving life outcomes of low-income youth. Her research has explored how cognitive behavioral therapy-based programs impact juvenile crime and schooling outcomes. She is currently working on several projects to determine how and why summer jobs affect disadvantaged youth. Heller holds an M.P.P. from Georgetown University and a Ph.D. in Public Policy from the University of Chicago. In 2015, her Science paper was named Outstanding Experimental Field Trial of the year by the American Society of Criminology. She was a recipient of the National Science Foundation/National Bureau of Economics Crime Research Fellowship and the Institute of Education Sciences Pre-Doctoral Research Fellowship.