Mana Ionescu

Digital marketing strategist, President of Chicago digital marketing company Lightspan Digital. SCUBA diver, supporter of local businesses and sustainable practices, gadget geek. Public speaker and group trainer.

I write about practical digital marketing that actually works, and hope to eliminate digital marketing myths.

I developed the Daily Social Media Workouts(tm) (which gets downloaded by thousands every week), a daily routine to help anyone, even beginners, manage their social media activity in under an hour a day. It's as simple as 1-2-3. And Today's Chicago Woman says the Daily Workouts work!

I believe in digital marketing done with purpose. My mission is to bust digital marketing myths and put marketing back in social media marketing. From Techweek to SES, from Social Media Week to MPI TechCon, from 312Digital to Marketing Profs University, I took the stage over 100 times in the past 3 years, busting social media myths and showing measurable results are possible.

I'm a staunch STEM education supporter, and serve on the Board of the Illinois Math and Science Academy Fund. In March 2014, I was awarded the “Chicago Woman Making History” Outstanding Entrepreneur Award by the City of Chicago Treasurer’s Office.

Prior to starting Lightspan I led online engagement and digital marketing strategies for HSBC digital marketing and had the opportunity to do international consulting work with HSBC Bank India and Brazil. As a result I could win in a corporate speech contest. Luckily I've already re-learned how to speak human.

Chicago is home, but I was born and raised in Romania, and lived in beautiful Bulgaria for a while, so I will always prefer Romanian food and the green hills of Bulgaria :).

Bragging rights
In 1999, together with 9 other college students I had lunch with Bill Clinton. It was the end of the Kosovo war and we talked about how to bring peace to war zones - by offering opportunities to future leaders to work and study together in war-free, neutral zones.