It All Began with the First Female Graduate of MIT
AAFCS was founded by the first female graduate and professor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ellen H. Richards, who was an activist for consumer education, nutrition, child protection, industrial safety, public health, career education, women's rights, purity of air, food, and water, and the application of scientific and management principles to the family. In 1909, she and a small group of women and men met in Lake Placid, NY, and created what became known as the American Home Economics Association. In 1994, the organization changed its name to the American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences. Her professional experience and foresight led to the formalization of the family and consumer sciences profession.