[1] After spending several years as a social worker, a housewife and mother, a model, a flight attendant, and in various secretarial positions, Chilton was hired in 1955 to be a switchboard operator at Daniel Reeves & Co., a brokerage in Los Angeles.

Working her way up through the ranks, Chilton became an assistant vice president of Hayden, Stone & Co. when that firm acquired several offices of Daniel Reeves.

[1] Throughout her time in the business world, Chilton maintained an active academic career, teaching economics, marketing, and organizational management at Pepperdine.

During her tenure as California Secretary of State and Consumer Services, Exposition Park, overseen by Chilton's department and home to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, played host to the 1984 Summer Olympics.

Following her term as Secretary of State and Consumer Services, President George H. W. Bush nominated her in 1992 to serve on the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board.

[1] In her retirement, Chilton continued teaching economics and mediation and remained active in the California Republican Party and Rotary International.