Gertrude L. Warren was born on a farm near Lockport, New York.^[1] She studied at Columbia University, from which she received bachelor's and master's degrees in home economics.^[1]

Warren taught home economics at Columbia until 1917, at which time she moved to Washington, D.C. to join the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a senior scientist. She was placed in charge of the home-making element of a network of boys' and girls' clubs,^[1] organized under the Cooperative Extension Service. The first appearance of the term "4-H Club" in a federal document was in "Organization and Results of Boys' and Girls' Club Work," by Oscar Herman Benson (1875–1951) and Warren, in 1920.^[2] (The expression had been used in a speech by Benson as early as 1911.^[3]) Warren advocated for this name for the program; others proposed "Junior Extension Work," with reference to other federal programs. By 1924, the system was known as 4-H,^[4] for its emphasis on improving head, heart, hands, and health.^[5] When Warren joined USDA, membership in the clubs numbered 330,000; at her retirement in 1952, the system had grown to 85,000 clubs with 2 million members.^[1] Warren expanded the scope of girls' activities under the program (promoting garment making, room decorating, and hot lunches), and wrote extensive training materials.^[6][7]

Warren was instrumental in establishing the National 4-H Foundation (now the National 4-H Council) and the National 4-H Center in Washington.^[1] She initiated the International Four-H Youth Exchange.^[1] Warren was a member of the Commission on Child Welfare, established by Herbert Hoover; the Eighth Scientific Conference of the Americas; the Rural Education Conference for Franklin D. Roosevelt; and Harry S. Truman's National Youth Emergency Conference and Conference on Family Life.^[1] To sum up her career, she was called "the mother of 4-H"^[1][8] and "the guardian angel of 4-H."^[6]

Outside of government, Gertrude L. Warren was president of the Woman's National Farm & Garden Association from 1952 to 1954.^[9]

Gertrude L. Warren died of cardiac arrest on 6 September 1979 at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington.^[1]

For her work in establishing 4-H Clubs in Latvia, Gertrude Warren (along with Ray A. Turner and C. B. Smith) was awarded the Order of the Three Stars, that country's highest civil order.^[10] At the National 4-H Conference Center in Chevy Chase, Maryland, the headquarters building was named Warren Hall in her honor.^[1]

• Benson, Oscar Herman; Warren, Gertrude L. (February 1920). Organization and Results of Boys' and Girls' Club Work (Northern and Western States): 1918. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 21 August 2018. Department Circular 66
• Warren, Gertrude L. (April 1936). The Cultural Aspects of 4-H Club Work. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Extension Service. Retrieved 8 August 2018. Extension Service Circular 241
• Warren, Gertrude L. (October 1938). Organization of 4-H Club Work: A Guide for Local Leaders. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 8 August 2018. Miscellaneous Publication No. 320
• Warren, Gertrude L. (July 1951). Building a Better America through the 4-H Clubs. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Extension Service. Retrieved 8 August 2018. AIB 58
• Warren, Gertrude L. (December 1952). Aids for Observance of National 4-H Club Events. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Extension Service. Retrieved 8 August 2018. PA-214

• Nolan, Martha A. (1985). A Chronicle: The History of Woman's National Farm & Garden Association, Incorporated: 1914-1984. OCLC 924193250.
• Reck, Franklin A. (1951). The 4-H Story: A History of 4-H Club Work (PDF). Chicago, IL: National 4-H Service Committee. OCLC 950057521.
• Wessel, Thomas; Wessel, Marilyn (1982). 4-H: An American Idea, 1900-1980. Chevy Chase, MD: National 4-H Council. OCLC 8675452.

• Publications by Gertrude L. Warren in the Internet Archive