2014 Asia Foundation Development Fellow

Ms. Salinee Tavaranan is an engineer and a social entrepreneur. After graduating with a master’s degree in solar energy engineering from University of Massachusetts Lowell in 2005, she returned to Thailand to lead the Border Green Energy Team (BGET) as the Director. BGET provides renewable energy technology to underprivileged communities along the Thailand-Burma border. In 2011, she founded SunSawang, a social enterprise that offers solar-powered products and services for rural villages in Thailand, ranging from personal-use lanterns, mobile chargers up to entire home systems. Salinee continues to volunteer at BGET, heading a center dedicated to promoting sustainable livelihoods for orphaned refugees called the Grace Garden Sustainable Living and Learning Center. In addition, Salinee is a 2010 Pop!Tech Social Innovation Fellow and a member and commitment maker at the Clinton Global Initiative from 2011-2013. Ms. Tavaranan also holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand.