Through education and workforce development, SEI’s flagship programs have been building leaders to accelerate climate solutions for 27 years.
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Our Mission:
Building leaders to accelerate climate solutions. |
Our Vision:
A resilient world where all communities thrive. |
Building Leaders from Coast to CoastSEI was founded in the Bay Area in 1997. Now, our team members work nationwide in California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Indiana, Washington, D.C., North Carolina, and the Greater New York Area.
SEI plans to expand to other regions across the United States. |
A Future Where All Communities Thrive
SEI envisions a resilient world where all communities thrive. We recognize that systemic injustices pose barriers to equal access to quality education, livable wages, and a safe and healthy environment, and we are committed to identifying and working to remove those barriers in all aspects of our work. We are listening, learning, and taking action.
What Does This Have to Do With the Environment? Decades of research show that residents in minority and low-income neighborhoods bear the burden of and are disproportionately exposed to extreme heat, poor air and water quality, and other devastating environmental impacts. SEI is committed to the long-term transformation required to achieve a fair, resilient, and connected world. |
How SEI Is Taking Action
Some of the actions we plan to take in the immediate future and have taken already are outlined in our annual Impact Report.
Within Our Organization
In Our Work
Within Our Organization
- Fostering a culture of listening to deeply understand the needs of the individuals and communities we partner with and serve. This includes healthy feedback loops that incorporate a wide array of voices, followed by reporting on results and action items.
- Creating space for critical organizational updates, modeling transparency and vulnerability at all levels of leadership.
- Looking critically at our hiring practices in order to build a team that reflects the communities we partner with and serve by using structured interview processes, job postings written to expand opportunities, and interviewer tutorials to ensure the applicant experience is consistent and fair.
- Providing dignity in employment by offering comprehensive, highly subsidized benefits and competitive salaries. Eliminating potential internal pay disparities with structured, transparent, and consistent pay practices.
In Our Work
- Growing and nurturing long-term partnerships in frontline communities — those affected first and worst by climate change.
- Including voices of marginalized communities, particularly people of color, in programmatic planning and decision-making.
- Offering education and workforce development opportunities that empower representational leadership in environmental career pathways.
- Centering people and community throughout our curriculum offerings in the K-12 and higher education spaces.
- Building impactful partnerships with organizations that closely align with SEI’s vision of a resilient world where all communities thrive.
We're Learning
We humbly acknowledge that we have a lot to learn. If you’d like to share resources, have your ideas heard, or take action together, please get in touch.