On November 3rd, 2025, we celebrated a community of people who saw clearly what's broken but hadn't given up on what could be. This was a gathering for people who understand that being pissed off is a rational, productive, and necessary state of mind—and that channeling that energy collectively is how we create the world we need.

​​We gathered for nonprofit leaders working overtime to fill gaps our government can’t (or won’t) address. For designers reimagining how services could actually serve people. For organizers who know that real change takes decades, not news cycles. We gathered for public servants fighting from the inside. For philanthropists who are using their dollars and influence to double down on fundamental rights. And for artists using creativity as resistance.

Greater Good Studio has spent over 14 years using design to tackle social challenges. We’re a design firm who believes that how we design is just as important as what we deliver. We work exclusively with nonprofits, foundations, and government agencies to build more equitable approaches to creating change. We call ourselves Pissed-Off Optimists because we are keenly aware of the injustice in our society, AND we believe in what's possible when people with shared values work together.

This conference built on the momentum from hosting Angry Hours™ in Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Austin, Los Angeles, and Milwaukee. Read Fast Company's coverage of Angry Hour™: The Happy Hour for Pissed-Off Optimists.

Greater Good Studio hosted a half-day virtual convening in 2020 called the Restorative Design Conference. We were overjoyed by the response, with over 900 attendees on Zoom, drawing an audience from across the US, Europe, South America, Australia and New Zealand.

Greater Good Studio is proud to partner with Marwen, a nonprofit arts organization that offers no-cost programs for young artists in Chicago who want to explore the visual arts, particularly those who lack access to arts programming due to financial and systemic barriers.

Marwen’s gallery floor has space for 150 in-person attendees and plenty of room for virtual attendees via Zoom. Marwen is located in the heart of Chicago’s downtown area and is well served by the public transit Franklin Brown Line CTA stop and the Chicago Ave #66 Bus service. There are also numerous local hotel options nearby. Chicago is also a world-class destination for dining. Did somebody say, ‘Yes, Chef!”?

If you're going to gather a bunch of Pissed-Off Optimists, you might as well do it in a city that perfected the art. Chicago has been a training ground for organizers and the home base for foundations that fuel change, as well as Greater Good Studio’s home for 14 years.

This is a city that knows how to organize, from the stockyards to the statehouse. Where unions built the middle class, and nonprofits continue to fight for everyone else. It's where people took to the streets in '68 because they gave a damn about democracy, and where we're still showing up today as a sanctuary city when others are backing down.