She has worked as a computer programmer for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, DC,[7] as legislative affairs director for the Colorado Open Space Council from 1979 to 1980 and as senior vice president for Herrick S. Roth Associates, a Denver public policy consulting firm, from 1980 to 1985.
She also received the Local Government Collaboration Gold Award for work on an IGA targeting Colorado State Highway 42 revitalization.
During the early 1980s,[1] Hullinghorst received gubernatorial appointments to the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board, the Front Range Project Steering Committee, and the Metropolitan Water Roundtable.
[12] In October 2007, Hullinghorst announced her candidacy for the state house seat being vacated by term-limited Rep. Alice Madden.
[13] She had no opposition in the Democratic primary[14] and, in the general election, faced Republican Dorothy Marshall,[15] a Boulder health insurance agent whose bid was endorsed by the Denver Post.
[21] For the 2010 legislative session, Hullinghorst was named to the House Appropriations Committee, filling a seat previously held by Representative Kathleen Curry.