Opportunity, Mobility, and the New American Dream

Ideas and information to help you make a difference

Wallace Foundation President Jean S. Desravines, and Economist Raj Chetty

Jean S. Desravines (left), president of The Wallace Foundation, in conversation with Harvard economist Raj Chetty.

Dear Colleagues,

A year ago this month, I stepped into the role of president of The Wallace Foundation. I’ve spent much of this first year listening–with youth development leaders and advocates while in New Orleans, community-based arts organizations while in Chicago, school and district leaders while in Denver, and a variety of partners and funders across the country. Looking back on them together, a clear theme surfaced in every one of those rooms.

In New Orleans, it was caring adults working to ensure adolescents had real pathways to a future they could believe in. In Chicago, it was artists and organizers turning neglected buildings into jobs, small businesses, and community wealth. In Denver, it was equity-minded educators asking how to prepare students for both college and career, not just one or the other. In every case, partners weren't just talking about better outcomes. They were talking, in their own words, about building brighter futures through economic mobility and about whether a young person's effort and talent could actually translate into a better life than the one they were born into.

I’ve thought about that question for most of my career, long before I imagined leading this foundation. But recent conversations and compelling data shared by Dr. Raj Chetty, the Harvard economist who directs Opportunity Insights, helped sharpen it into focus at a national scale. Raj joined a conversation with our board and staff earlier this year, and the data he shared was sobering: for children born in 1940, roughly nine in 10 went on to earn more than their parents. For children born in 1990, it's a 50-50 chance.

Addressing this gap is essential to Wallace’s mission to help all communities build a more vibrant and just future. A future where all people, including those furthest from opportunity, have well-paying jobs and viable careers that lead to stability.

This is why we are making economic mobility Wallace's new North Star, guiding our work across the arts, education, and youth development. Not a fourth focus area, but a critical lens we can put on our work to ensure it expands the odds that a young person ends up better off than the generation before them.

And we’ve set an ambitious impact goal to guide us: a strong career launch by age 25, meaning a young person is earning at or above a living wage in their region, in a role with real upward mobility.

This is early. Over the coming months, you'll see us build out our new vision in more detail and with greater clarity, through strategic planning and in conversation and collaboration with partners who've been long-steeped in this work. For now, we have prepared a FAQ with key questions, and I've written a bit more on our website.

If this past year has taught me anything, it's that the answer to America’s economic mobility challenge won't come from any one sector or any one foundation. It'll come from the kind of collective work I got to witness in New Orleans, Chicago, and Denver and inspiring, innovative efforts taking place in communities all across the country.

Thank you all for the work you do every day and for so generously welcoming me into the Wallace community. I’m looking forward to meeting more of you and sharing more about our new direction as it develops.