Frank Kilgore is an attorney based in St. Paul, Virginia. A native of Southwest Virginia, he is the son and grandson of coal miners. Frank graduated with honors from The University of Virginia’s College at Wise with a degree in Appalachian Studies, and passed the Virginia State Bar Exam in 1982.

While in college, Frank founded Virginia Citizens for Better Reclamation. The group was involved in lobbying for federal strip mining controls, and at age twenty five, he testified before Congress in support of the Federal Surface Mining Act of 1977, then attended the White House ceremony when President Jimmy Carter signed the Act into law. Frank was also named Virginia's Conservationist of the Year.

Frank has received several awards for his efforts to improve Appalachian conservation programs, initiate economic development projects, and advance higher education and health care throughout the region. He was named as one of the Bristol Herald Courier's "Region's Most Influential People in the 20th Century" in 2001. He is the past chair of the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, a former Trustee of the Appalachian School of Law, a founding board member and past chair of New Peoples Bank, and past chair and founder of the University of Appalachia.

Frank is also the co-author of two books: Far Southwest Virginia: A Postcard Journey, with Kathy Shearer, and The Clinch River: A World Class Treasure, with Stacy Fowler Horton.

Frank enjoys traveling, planting trees, playing with his grandchildren, and hiking some of the region's most challenging terrain, resulting in epic stories of self-inflicted predicaments.

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