American founder of one of the first schools of social work (social service) and an internationally prominent feminist.

She was one of the first women to receive the Ph.D. degree from the University of Berlin (1906); her doctoral thesis dealt with the inequality of pay for men and women doing equivalent work. In 1899, she had organized regular training courses for social workers; this evolved into the first German social-work school, of which she was president until 1928 and which was named for her in 1932. She also became president of the federation of German schools of social work.

In 1904 she helped found the International Congress of Women and in 1920 was chosen its vice president. She also was active in the field of public health and was awarded an honorary M.D. degree by the University of Berlin in 1932. Exiled from Nazi Germany five years later, she went to the United States, where she lectured on social work administration.