Tilinao is from Lilongwe, Malawi. As an undergraduate at Daystar University in Kenya, Tilinao volunteered as a peer counselor on campus. She later volunteered for GOAL Kenya, focusing on HIV/AIDS street education. Upon receiving her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, she volunteered with an orphan care center in Chinsapo, Lilongwe. She received her Master of Science in Counseling Psychology from the University of Keele in England in 2012. Since completing her postgraduate studies, Tilinao has been working as a Psychology lecturer and student counselor at the University of Malawi, Chancellor College in Zomba. She has also worked as a counselor in a primary school, a prison, and a center for survivors of domestic abuse.