Exploring how trust builds stronger communities and creates greater opportunity for everyone.
Trust is the foundation of strong communities. Opportunity is what becomes possible when people feel connected, included, and able to contribute.
Across the region, too many people face barriers that limit access to economic mobility, educational attainment, housing stability, and civic participation. Research increasingly shows that trust, between neighbors, institutions, and communities, plays a critical role in creating the conditions where opportunity can grow.
Trust & Opportunity brings together local leaders, national experts, and community voices to explore a central question:
How can trust help expand opportunity for more people across our region?
Through conversation, data, and shared learning, we aim to deepen understanding, strengthen relationships, and identify practical pathways toward a more prosperous future for all.
Raj Chetty is the William A. Ackman Professor of Economics at Harvard University and the Director of Opportunity Insights, which uses big data to study the science of economic opportunity: how we can give children from all backgrounds better chances of succeeding? Chetty’s work has been widely cited in academia, media outlets, and policy discussions in the United States and beyond.
Chetty received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2003 and is one of the youngest tenured professors in Harvard’s history. He has received numerous awards for his research, including a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, the John Bates Clark medal, given to the economist under 40 whose work is judged to have made the most significant contribution to the field, and Harvard’s George Ledlie prize, awarded for research that made the most valuable contribution to science, or in any way for the benefit of mankind.
Trust & Opportunity Reception
An Evening with Dr. Raj Chetty
Monday, October 5, 2026
4:00–6:00 PM
The Skyline on Dawson Street
Trust & Opportunity Local News Summit
Tuesday, October 6, 2026
12:00–6:00 PM
Texas Public Radio
321 W. Commerce Street
San Antonio, TX 78205
Open to all. Registration required.
Presented by the San Antonio Area Foundation
Trust is the foundation of strong communities. Opportunity is what becomes possible when people feel connected, included, and able to contribute.
Trust & Opportunity brings together local leaders, national experts, and community voices to explore a central question: How can trust help expand opportunity for more people across our region?
Scroll down to learn more.
Connections to others shape the lives of local children in other ways. Students at high schools with the highest college enrollment rates have many more neighbors with college degrees than students at schools with lower rates of college enrollment. Children at the best performing schools are also more likely to live near people who are doctors, engineers, and CEOs, which increases their exposure to opportunities in these types of careers.
