Hundreds of residents and volunteers contributed to Hull House over more than a century in operation. College-educated women like Jane Addams applied their education in innovative ways to meet the needs of the community. They were activists, suffragists, and social reformers. Together, these women were one of the most important organizing networks of the Progressive Era, when reform-minded activists applied scientific methodologies for the benefit of society. These women made significant contributions to social science, and many alumnae became leaders of the agencies they fought to establish, such as Julia Lathrop, the first director of the Children’s Bureau.