About Us

Lyfta’s platform was created to support teachers in tackling complex themes and topics with the best tools to introduce different global phenomena in the classroom.

Lyfta was founded by award-winning filmmaker couple Serdar Ferit and Paulina Tervo in 2016, with the desire to inspire future generations to make a positive impact in the world.

Our ultimate vision is that children will have digitally visited every country in the world by the time they leave school.

They will have met at least one human being from each of these countries; experienced different cultures, languages, jobs, roles and perspectives.
They will have seen hundreds of positive human stories modelling resilience, problem-solving, teamwork, and many other critical skills, values and competencies.
They will understand for themselves how interconnected and interdependent we are, and will have gained a deep awareness of their power and role in the world.

Meet the team

Co-founder & Chief Content Officer
Paulina Tervo
Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer
Serdar Ferit
Co-founder & Chief Operating Officer
Tiina Rantakokko
Chief Financial Officer
Shaheed Hossain
Head of Stories
Charlie Phillips
Production Manager
Damola Nadi
Senior Partnerships Manager
Rahul Karavadra
Senior Partnerships Manager
Wendy De Wit
Partnership Assistant
Ben Shaw
Senior Engagement Manager
Matthew Smitheman
School Partnership & Engagement Manager
Noel Garvey
Director of Education & Impact
Harriet Marshall
Head of Educational Content
Lisa Taner
Director of Marketing
Penny Othen
Marketing Manager
Rasheeda Dika Ndema
Social Media Marketing Specialist
Rachel Lewis
Marketing Multimedia Assistant
Anna Brant
Head of Product
Chris Smith
Product Manager
Leah Stewart
Head of UX Research & Design
Yiota Demetriou
Chief Technology Officer
Melissa Ayers
Senior React Developer
Mario Garcia
Quality Assurance Lead
Orkun Hirlas
Apprentice Software Developer
Alex Grafen
Apprentice Software Developer
Joe Asher
Chief Information Officer
Daniele Mercanti
Customer & IT Support Manager
Hasan Ferit
IT Systems Engineer
Antony Xenophontos
Head of People Operations
Tim Burridge
Finance, Data & Sales Assistant
Raza Rasool

Join schools around the world and bring classroom learning to life.

80+ storyworlds
375+ lesson and assembly plans
90+ documentary films
3,500+
Schools
20,000+
Teachers