Cynthia Hilden was born on July 17, 1941. She worked for 33 years at Blue Mountain Community College (BMCC) in Pendleton, Oregon. She become the Assistant Dean for the Office of Instruction, and the interim Vice President of Instruction and Provost. Hilden was selected as one of eighteen delegates from Oregon to attend the National Women’s Conference in Houston, Texas which was held from November 18 to 21, 1977.

In addition to the BMCC, Hilden taught classes in women's studies and sociology on the Umatilla Indian Reservation, at the Umatilla County Jail, and Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution. She was also involved in the American Association of Women in Community Colleges as the campus contact for BMCC. Hilden retired from BMCC in 2003.

Hilden wrote a bi-monthly column for the Pendleton, Oregon newspaper, the East Oregonian, from 1989 to 2005. She also write a column titled “My View” for the Enterprise, Oregon newspaper, the Wallowa County Chieftain which ended in 2004.