coleman grew up in the 1960s in chicago and experienced school desegregation, a violent anti-war movement, and a non-violent civil rights movement first hand. these experiences instilled a strong sense of macro worry: concern over the state of our society and our world. he received a b.a. from the university of iowa in 1981. after working with violent youth in new york city in the 1980s, coleman returned to academics to study how to use science as a tool to address social ills.