DeAndrea Salvador ’13

Outstanding Young Alumna Award

Vision and impact are two words that come to mind when hearing DeAndrea Salvador’s name. In the time since she graduated from UNC Charlotte’s Belk College of Business in 2013, these have been the defining characteristics of her work.

In late 2013, Salvador created her own non-profit called RETI, the Renewable Energy Transition Initiative, with the mission to sustainably decrease the energy costs of low-income families and fight energy poverty. Shortly after, RETI became a member of SEED20’s Class of 2014. Her dream of educating low-income folks about how to reduce their energy costs grew quickly, and soon she was sharing her dream across the Charlotte community through programs with Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s libraries as well as other public events. 

“I met DeAndrea shortly after her graduation from UNC Charlotte,” says Salvador’s SEED20 coach Jonathan Buchan, Jr. of Essex Richards, P.A. “She, even then, had a passion for her mission and a talent for motivating others to believe in it.”

After founding RETI, Salvador discovered the haunting extent of the issue she so passionately fights against. “As compared to a middle or upper class household that spends five percent or less of its income on energy, a lower income family can spend over 20 percent,” she says. “Those in low-income households shouldn’t have to choose between heating their homes and eating their next meal.”

Most importantly, she never forgets where she came from; Hygge Coworking, RETI’s home, is in the heart of West Charlotte, where Salvador grew up. “She stays focused on the progress of Charlotte and shows she truly believes in the abilities of UNC Charlotte students,” says RETI Outreach Coordinator Amanda Bill.

The Charlotte community is not the only one taking notice of such a bold, passionate innovator in the field of energy poverty. She has published several articles regarding these topics to a number of prominent magazines. Most recently, her work has gained national and international attention. 

Salvador’s unique vision grabbed the attention of the world-renowned TED fellowship program, and in January 2018, she was picked as a TED 2018 Fellow – an honor earned by only twenty people across the world. Salvador hosted her own TED Talk in Vancouver, Canada within only five years of graduation. 
Summarizes Bill, “DeAndrea truly embodies the most elite, accomplished of UNC Charlotte young alumni.”