Through these local organizations EASI builds links between senior organizations and environmental groups and identifies host organizations for SECs. Youth education efforts take different forms from site to site. In some cases senior volunteers work with troubled youth on tree-planting projects, while others train college freshmen to conduct water quality tests and environmental assessments. Governance EASI has a board of directors that is responsible for policy and general direction of the organization. EASI staff, including an executive director and national program manager, conduct government and private sector fundraising efforts in order to provide support for recruitment, training, and other needs.
Staff is also responsible for providing technical assistance to contracted SECs.
Other governance is structured according to the specific needs of the local host organizations and the local SECs. For instance, while stream monitoring may be a volunteer's major task, there is also the opportunity to add learning about the Internet or databases to his or her experience as a volunteer. The program is limited only by the volunteers' curiosity and interests. Although it does not impose structural or project-design standards on local SECs, EASI nonetheless has developed a national system to provide financial, organizational, and staff support to the hundreds of senior environmental volunteer programs located in communities across the country and in other nations. This support system empowers EASI and local SEC task forces to work effectively with local agencies, organizations, businesses, and individuals to design a research or action program that fits the particular requirements of the local environment and community.