Family Service Center (FSC)

[FAN] Inside the Box: How Constraints Make Us Better
2026-05-15 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | Evanston Township High School Auditorium, 1600 Dodge Ave, Evanston, IL, 60201
Friday, May 15, 2026 | 7:00 PM CT
Inside the Box: How Constraints Make Us Better
A FAN program featuring David Epstein (FAN ’16, ’20), in conversation with Megan Twohey (FAN ’19)
Evanston Township High School Auditorium, 1600 Dodge Ave., Door 6, Evanston, IL 60201
No registration required. Post-event reception in ETHS’s Alumni Hall, 8:30-9:30 PM CT, open to all.
Book Giveaway: FAN is giving away copies of Inside the Box at the event, while supplies last.
We live in a world that gives us seemingly infinite choices and prizes freedom above all else. We have an unprecedented number of options regarding what to do, who to be, and how to spend our time. All that choice is wonderful; it is also overwhelming. The irony is that total freedom can be paralyzing, and unlimited resources don’t necessarily lead to the biggest breakthroughs. In fact, overvaluing complete freedom can be disastrous for everything from starting a company to harnessing creativity to finding personal satisfaction.
In his new book, Inside the Box: How Constraints Make Us Better, bestselling author David Epstein (FAN ’16, ’20) argues that all of us—individuals, businesses, institutions, even societies—can benefit from narrowing our options. He dives into the science and practice of constraints, exploring exactly when and how guardrails can be beneficial, whether we’re working with limited resources or using self-imposed boundaries to tap unexpected wells of focus and innovation.
Original, galvanizing, and deeply researched, Inside the Box tells absorbing stories of people and organizations that embraced constraints to transform themselves, and the world—as well as a few that struggled from a lack of limits. Epstein reveals how boundaries create breakthroughs, and how setting the right constraints can help you become the most creative, productive, and satisfied version of yourself.
Epstein will be in conversation with Megan Twohey, an investigative reporter at The New York Times who seeks to expose hidden truths and hold powerful individuals and institutions to account. She is the coauthor, with Jodi Kantor (FAN ’26), of She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story that Helped Ignite a Movement, which takes readers behind the scenes of the Harvey Weinstein investigation and was adapted into a film. Twohey and Kantor shared a Pulitzer Prize for public service for their reporting.
Both featured guests are ETHS alums: Epstein is ‘98, and Twohey is ‘94.
Sponsored by FAN, in partnership with The Avery Coonley School, Avoca D37, Baker Demonstration School, Barrington D220, Beacon Academy, Bennett Day School, Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School, Brickton Montessori School, British International School of Chicago, Catherine Cook School, Compass Health Center, Countryside Day School, Evanston Scholars, Evanston Township HS D202, Family Service Center, Foundation 65, The Frances Xavier Warde School, Francis W. Parker School, Glencoe D35, Glenview Public Library, Gorton Center, Hyde Park Day School, Illinois Student Assistance Commission, Kenilworth D38, Lake Bluff D65, Latin School of Chicago, Leo Catholic High School, Libertyville D70, Lycée Français de Chicago, North Shore Country
Day, Northwestern University Office of Neighborhood and Community Relations, Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy, Pope John XXIII School, Regina Dominican High School, Resurrection College Prep High School, Rogers Park Montessori School, Roycemore School, St. Bernard’s School, Santa Clara University School of Law, Science & Arts Academy, The Sonia Shankman Orthogenic School, Stevenson High School D125, Township High School D113, Township High School D214, TrueNorth Educational Cooperative #804, UChicago Network for College Success, Wilmette Public Library, Wolcott College Prep, Woodlands Academy, Youth & Opportunity United.

[FAN] Churn: The Tension That Divides Us and How to Overcome It
2026-05-18 19:00 - 20:00 | Evanston Township High School Auditorium, 1600 Dodge Ave, Evanston, IL, 60201
Monday, May 18, 2026 | 7:00 PM CT
Churn: The Tension That Divides Us and How to Overcome It
A FAN program featuring Claude Steele, Ph.D. (FAN ’14), in conversation with Marcus Campbell, Ed.D.
Evanston Township High School Auditorium, 1600 Dodge Ave., Door 6, Evanston, IL 60201
No registration required.
Book Giveaway: FAN is giving away copies of Churn at the event, while supplies last.
Nearly two decades after Whistling Vivaldi, legendary social psychologist Claude M. Steele, Ph.D. (FAN ’14), returns with Churn: The Tension That Divides Us and How to Overcome It, an equally ambitious work examining the mental agitation and physical stress we experience in diverse settings, and the surprising role trust-building plays in reducing it across identity divides.
Opening with a striking vignette of a parent-teacher conference between a well-meaning white teacher and the concerned Black parents of a seventh grader, the book demonstrates how churn threatens the trust essential to teaching and mentoring the young. Drawing on decades of psychological research, Churn is rich with examples: a young woman entering a boardroom as one of only a few women; a white male feeling conspicuous during diversity training; a Chinese grandmother shopping where anti-Asian violence has occurred; and lessons from remarkable student outcomes at Georgia State University.
Too often, we navigate the tensions of diversity by pretending they don’t exist, avoiding connection across what can seem like wide chasms of difference. Steele charts a different path, one rooted in seeing the full humanity in human difference. He offers concrete practices, “a game played on the ground,” for building trust across all kinds of divides: between individuals, in classrooms, boardrooms, and entire institutions.
Carefully intertwining research with anecdotes drawn from Steele’s own biracial background, Churn is essential reading for anyone committed to fostering community. Filled with hard-won hope, Steele’s summa work teaches us how to work through the churn suffusing our lives.
Steele will be in conversation with Marcus Campbell, Ed.D., superintendent of Evanston Township High School District 202. Dr. Campbell was previously the Assistant Superintendent/Principal at ETHS, responsible for providing leadership in the development of district strategy and organizational change, including effective instruction practices, impactful diversity and equity initiatives, and responsive programs and services.
This event is suitable for youth ages 12 and up. It will be recorded but not live streamed and available on FAN’s website and YouTube channel.
Sponsored by FAN, in partnership with The Alliance for Early Childhood, Avoca D37, Bennett Day School, Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School, British International School of Chicago, Catherine Cook School, Compass Health Center, Connections for the Homeless, Countryside Day School, Evanston Scholars, Evanston Township HS D202, The Family Institute at Northwestern University, Family Service Center, Foundation 65, The Frances Xavier Warde School, Francis W. Parker School, Glencoe D35, Glenview Public Library, Gorton Center, Hyde Park Day School, Illinois Student Assistance Commission, Kenilworth D38, Latin School of Chicago, Leo Catholic High School, Libertyville D70, Lycée Français de Chicago, Magnetar Capital, Near North Montessori School, North Shore Country Day, Northwestern University Office of Neighborhood and Community Relations, Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy, Pope John XXIII School, Regina Dominican High School, Resurrection College Prep High School, Rogers Park Montessori School, Sacred Heart Schools, Santa Clara University School of Law, Science & Arts Academy, The Sonia Shankman Orthogenic School, Stevenson High School D125, Township High School D113, Township High School D214, TrueNorth Educational Cooperative #804, UChicago Network for College Success, Wilmette Public Library, Wolcott College Prep, Woodlands Academy, Youth & Opportunity United.

[FAN] A Little More Social: How Small Choices Create Unexpected Happiness, Health, and Connection
2026-05-21 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
Thursday, May 21, 2026 | 7:00 PM CT
A Little More Social: How Small Choices Create Unexpected Happiness, Health, and Connection
A FAN webinar featuring Nicholas Epley, Ph.D., in conversation with David Brooks.
REGISTER: www.bit.ly/EpleyFANWebinar
Book Giveaway: FAN is giving away copies of A Little More Social. to randomly selected Zoom attendees. Details on the webinar registration page.
There’s a paradox at the core of human life. We are a uniquely social species — and connection is genuinely good for us — yet we routinely choose isolation over engagement. We avoid the stranger in the next seat. We stay stuck in small talk. We hold back gratitude we genuinely feel. Every day, we pass up chances to connect with strangers, colleagues, friends, and family, forfeiting the happiness and health that come with a richer social life.
Nicholas Epley, Ph.D., the John Templeton Keller Professor of Behavioral Science and faculty director of the Roman Family Center for Decision Research at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, has spent his career studying how we connect. In his new book, A Little More Social: How Small Choices Create Unexpected Happiness, Health, and Connection, he explains that our social fears are built on expectations that are reliably too pessimistic. We overestimate the awkwardness of a conversation with a stranger. We underestimate how much a small gesture of appreciation will mean to the person who receives it. We reach for our phones when what we want is a real exchange.
Epley’s great insight is that the fix doesn’t require a personality overhaul. Introverts and extroverts alike benefit from nudging themselves toward slightly more social choices. Small acts, consistently practiced, have an outsized effect on the parts of life that matter most. Bridging the gap between two people is easier than we think, and the rewards are larger than we expect.
Epley will be in conversation with David Brooks, staff writer for The Atlantic and the inaugural Senior Presidential Fellow at Yale University’s Jackson School of Global Affairs. He is the author of several #1 New York Times bestsellers, including The Social Animal, The Road to Character, and The Second Mountain. His most recent book is How to Know a Person.
Sponsored by FAN, in partnership with The Alliance for Early Childhood, The Avery Coonley School, Avoca D37, Baker Demonstration School, Barrington D220, Beacon Academy, Bennett Day School, Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School, Brickton Montessori School, British International School of Chicago, Catherine Cook School, Compass Health Center, Countryside Day School, The Cove School, Evanston Scholars, Evanston Township HS D202, The Family Institute at Northwestern University, Family Service Center, Foundation 65, The Frances Xavier Warde School, Francis W. Parker School, Glencoe D35, Glenview Public Library, Gorton Center, Hyde Park Day School, Illinois Student Assistance Commission, Kenilworth D38, Lake Bluff D65, Lake Forest Community High School D115, Latin School of Chicago, Leo Catholic High School, Libertyville D70, Lycée Français de Chicago, Magnetar Capital, North Shore Country Day, Northwestern University Office of Neighborhood and Community Relations, Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy, Pope John XXIII School, Regina Dominican High School, Resurrection College Prep High School, Rogers Park Montessori School, Roycemore School, Sacred Heart Schools, Santa Clara University School of Law, Science & Arts Academy, The Sonia Shankman Orthogenic School, Stevenson High School D125, Township High School D113, Township High School D214, TrueNorth Educational Cooperative #804, Wilmette Public Library, Winnetka D36, Wolcott College Prep, Woodlands Academy, Youth & Opportunity United.
