Our Team Members
Learn more about who makes Smiley Bridge the best at what we do
Lily Shinohara
Founder & CEO
With extensive experience in education and program development, Lily has worked globally to design and expand innovative learning experiences. She's helped build executive education programs for top institutions, including Harvard Business School in China and MIT programs from Dubai to Singapore, always focusing on creating impactful, real-world learning opportunities.
Mireia Torelló
Program Director
Mireia Torelló is a scientist, innovator, and education entrepreneur passionate about building bridges between technology, sustainability, and human learning. She holds a PhD in Earth Sciences from James Cook University (Australia), an Executive MBA from IESE Business School (Spain), and completed the Venture Advancement Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Matt Kressy
Program Director
Matthew S. Kressy, Co-founder and Director of the MIT Integrated Design & Management (IDM) master’s degree program, Founding Trustee of the New England Innovation Academy (NEIA), and is Principal of Designturn Inc. where he has designed, invented, engineered, and manufactured products for startups, Fortune 500 companies, and everything in between.
Scott Helfgott
Program Director
Scott Helfgott is President of Global Strategy Educational Consulting and an accomplished higher education leader, international education executive, and workshop facilitator with over 30 years of experience in academic innovation, program design, policy, and global learning.
Erdin Beshimov
Program Director
Erdin Beshimov is an educator and entrepreneur. He is a Lecturer at MIT and Founder of MIT Bootcamps, an educational program that brings together entrepreneurs from around the world and coaches them in developing an innovative venture. A graduate of MIT, Erdin returned to MIT to found the Incubation Group in the Office of Digital Learning. He co-produced MIT’s first massive open online courses on entrepreneurship, which have taught thousands of entrepreneurs worldwide that they too can be change-making entrepreneurs and have given them the tools to start on this journey.






