Gilmore was born in St. Louis, Missouri and attended Vanderbilt University.
She married and moved to Johnson County, Kansas in 1972, where she worked as a social worker.
[2] In 2012, Governor Sam Brownback named her to be Secretary of the Department of Children and families.
During her tenure as secretary, she faced criticism about the department's implementation of policy on assistance to the poor, and on their mishandling of the cases of children in foster care.
She stepped down in December of 2017, when Brownback left the governorship and incoming governor Jeff Colyer targeted Gilmore in a staff shakeup.