Mauricio Ospina came to Canada in 1990 with only a high school diploma and zero English. Today he is now a renowned international market consultant with 20 years of experience, and the reference for Hispanic professionals and business people. He is also a certified real estate salesperson.

 

Since 2001 and in his free time, Mauricio pioneers advancements for Canada's Hispanic community. He founded the first four professional and business associations in Canada – CCPA (two chapters), Hispanotech, and Canadian Hispanic Business Alliance - all still operational, unlocked procurement and home ownership opportunities during the 2015 Pan American Games, contributed to three York University books and to the business bestseller Why Mexican Don’t Drink Molson, created in 2007 the only national annual program in his community (10 most influential Hispanic Canadians) with over 100 winners from 16 countries and 6 provinces, has assisted hundreds of immigrants, and recently raised $230,000 in scholarships for his community.

 

His non-stop community work has been profiled in Canada's mainstream media and formally recognized by Prime Ministers and at the Canadian Parliament. He is a Fellow at York University, and was twice nominee for the Ontario Premier’s awards, an inaugural awardee of Ryerson’s G. Raymond Chang Outstanding Volunteer Awards, named one of the 10 most successful Colombians in Canada, and Chair of the Hispanic Philanthropy Conference run by the Association of Fundraising Professionals Foundation for Philanthropy (AFPF). In 2017, Mauricio  was inducted into the Canadian Who is Who, the standard reference listing the top 10,000 Canadians selected on merit alone. He lives in downtown Toronto biking every day, and likes to read and to paint.