Charlie Nitschelm is Co-Founder and CEO of Uplift Microhome Corp., a Boston-based startup building reusable, off-grid modular microhomes for rapid disaster relief deployment.

Charlie studied mechanical engineering at the University of New Hampshire, earned a prestigious Matthew Isakowitz Fellowship in commercial spaceflight, and is currently completing a dual master's in engineering and MBA through MIT's Leaders for Global Operations (LGO) program.

A former SpaceX Starship build engineer and Tesla engineer, Charlie brings deep hardware and manufacturing expertise to solving one of America's most persistent humanitarian crises.

Charlie and co-founder Trevor O'Leary built a fully functional, off-grid 60-square-foot prototype in just 50 days for approximately $21,000, and the company is now procurement-ready for federal contracts.

Uplift Microhome won the 2026 MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition grand prize, validating its mission to provide dignified housing to the millions of Americans displaced by natural disasters each year.