On September 18, 1889, Addams and Starr established Hull House as a settlement house. In the 19th century, a women's movement began to promote education and autonomy and to break into traditionally male-dominated occupations for women. The two activists used their new organization to implement these ideas through social work. They hired Elizabeth Evans to be their first director of operations. Evans had no formal training in social work but had been active in the Chicago Women's Club and other organizations that were beginning to use non-profit settlements as channels for implementing some of these ideas. She quickly demonstrated her ability to get things done by convincing local churches to let her use their gymnasiums for activities such as sewing classes and cooking demonstrations. She also organized volunteer work parties that constructed and repaired buildings at Hull House. Evans left Hull House in 1893 after she was offered a position with another organization that she felt was more suitable for her career goals. She was replaced by Anna Howard Shaw who had just completed a three-year term as president of the National Association for the Promotion of Social Science. Shaw brought with her a staff that included two recent graduates from the University of Chicago: Charles Norton and Clara Barton. Hull House thus became a center for educational programs aimed at promoting social change.