In 1991, she and her husband, Robert Gilman co-wrote Eco-Villages and Sustainable Communities, a seminal study of ecovillages for Gaia Trust.
A professional watercolor painter and potter, she founded the Context Institute with her husband, Robert in 1979.
She was Associate Publisher of In Context magazine from 1983–1995 and coordinated citizen diplomacy work with the USSR for the Institute.
Gilman co-facilitated a major Sustainable Community and Ecovillage Conference held at Findhorn, Scotland, in October 1995.
[3] She was on the advisory board of the Ecovillage Training Center in Summertown, Tennessee as well as other organizations working to provide positive solutions for living in our times.