Founded by teachers .

Teach Different was founded by practicing teachers in Chicago in 2017. We build a structured conversation routine called the Teach Different Method™, train educators to run it, and gather the practitioners who use it into a community where the practice gets sharper.

The Founders

Two brothers. Two classrooms. One craft.

Teach Different began with a question Steve and Dan kept asking each other across two cities and two grade levels. What would happen if a teacher made conversation a routine?

Founder

The only thing that has meaning in life is how you treat other people. It’s your passport to immortality.

Dr. Steve Fouts

Co-Founder

I’ve taught most of my career on the west side of Chicago. I believe America’s next great generation of leaders will come from its urban communities, and that the country’s polarized state is temporary. Plato prophesied it in the Republic. Philosophical and charismatic leaders will emerge to bring about justice in our society.

I see social-emotional learning skills and critical thinking as the most important gifts we can pass on to students. I value deep, meaningful conversations that give everyone a chance to listen, speak, and understand. I work with teachers, school leaders, business leaders, and philanthropists to make those conversations happen.

Founder

The hardest job of a teacher is to create environments where students listen to each other and share their perspectives, without fear.

Dan Fouts

Co-Founder

I’ve taught high school social studies in the northwest suburbs of Chicago since 1993. I studied philosophy and political science at Bradley University, then earned a graduate degree in education and social policy from Northwestern.
I serve on the academic advisory board of PLATO, the Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization, and have worked with the American Philosophical Association to bring philosophy into K-12 classrooms across the United States.
Conversations build compassion, understanding, and a collective sense of belonging. That is the soil that makes academic learning possible. With the mental health needs of teachers and students taking center stage, conversations now have added therapeutic value. We need them more than ever.

The Advisors

The board behind the work.

Teachers, principals, professors, psychologists, philosophers, journalists, technologists. The advisors who help us think and build.

Dr. Frank Houston

Director of Online Learning in the College of Liberal Arts at Benedictine University. Previously dean for graduate, adult, and professional education there. Serves on the board of the Illinois Institute of Independent Colleges and Universities.

Kimberly Mitchell

Began her career as a fifth-grade and middle-school science teacher in Los Angeles through Teach For America. Has served as principal in Athens, Greece, and chaired the IB Regional Council for the Americas for six years. Spent the last six years teaching inquiry-based courses at the University of Washington’s College of Education.

Dr. Terri Daniels

Has worked in education for 38 years. Started as an early childhood educator, taught high school special education and social studies, and has spent the last 15 years in administration. Currently principal of a comprehensive middle school in Northern California and ACSA secondary state coordinator to NASSP.

Mike Petitti

Builds startups into industry leaders. Most recently president of SecureTrust, the largest provider of security and compliance services in the payment industry. Previously Chief Marketing Officer at Trustwave. Holds a degree in political science from Knox College.

Jacob Plummer

Head of Enterprise Clients at Datavant, the industry leader in privacy-protected health information exchange. Previously CEO of Health Data Link until its 2019 acquisition. Holds graduate degrees in business and health policy from the University of Chicago.

Dr. Jana Mohr Lone

Co-founder of PLATO and Affiliate Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Washington. Author of Seen and Not Heard and The Philosophical Child. Has been leading philosophy sessions with students from preschool to graduate school for 25 years.

Joyce Kelly

Executive director of the Republic Foundation, a Chicago-based nonprofit supporting K-12 teacher retention and student leadership in urban communities. Lifelong journalist with bylines at the Chicago Tribune, Reuters, and the Los Angeles Times.

Jenna Daube

Undergraduate at Loyola University Chicago studying English and Secondary Education. Creates content, invites podcast guests, and bridges connections between Teach Different and Loyola educators.

Kathleen B. King, Ph.D.

Associate professor of education at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois, and coordinator of administrative internships for the Educational Leadership program. Former teacher and principal at the elementary and secondary levels. Researches PK-12 leadership, student belonging, and SEL.

Haripriya Mehta

Software engineer at Microsoft and co-founder of MehtA+, an educational institute mentoring the next generation of computational thinkers. Graduated from MIT in four years with a Bachelors and Masters in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Bhagirath Mehta

Software engineer at a Silicon Valley startup founded by Stanford professors. Co-founder of MehtA+. Graduated from Stanford with a double major and Masters in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Dr. Doug Bolton

Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Director of School Consultation for Formative Psychological Services. Spent over 20 years as psychologist and principal at North Shore Academy, a K-12 therapeutic school in Highland Park, Illinois.

The Partners

Who we build with.

Organizations that share the work. State institutions, nonprofits, philosophy groups, and the technology that powers our community.

Established in 1982 to strengthen private higher education in Illinois through research, fundraising, and collaborative work. Co-recipient of the Illinois Department of Human Services grant supporting the Teach Different Certificate Program.
The Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization. Nurtures young people’s curiosity, critical thinking, and desire to explore big questions through philosophy and ethics programs for students, educators, and families.
The oldest independent college association in the nation. An advocacy organization representing the public-policy interests of Illinois’ nonprofit colleges and universities.
A Chicago-based nonprofit founded in 2009 by teachers, writers, and artists. Supports professional development of teachers and leadership development of underserved youth.
Works with students and educators to develop the questions and dispositions needed to solve problems, think critically, and build social-emotional skills.
The cultural-software platform that powers the Teach Different community. Lets people, brands, and organizations build communities with content, courses, and commerce in one place.
Promotes more meaningful and equitable classroom dialogue by giving educators regular, automated feedback on their practice. A

Where the Work Has Been

Cumulative reach.

2,600+

Educators
Trained

40,000+

Students
Impacted

5

Continents
Reached

We’ve presented at the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the National Council for the Social Studies, the Association of California School Administrators, the Illinois Education Association, and dozens of state and regional education conferences since our first workshop in 2015. The Teach Different Method™ was named and formalized in 2017, built on those early years of classroom practice.

Build With Us

Find us.

We are a small company built around a craft. Teachers, advisors, partners, and a growing community of practitioners. If you are a teacher, a school, a funder, or a curious listener, we would like to hear from you.

Team Human, one structured conversation at a time.

Conversation is the language of freedom.