Loly Rico is the Co-Director of the FCJ Refugee Centre, with over 30 years’ experience welcoming and walking with up-rooted people. Head of the settlement services programme, with expertise in setting up a safe environment for vulnerable populations

Loly Rico is the past president of the Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR). She also has been supporting various organizations and committees at the Municipal, Provincial and National levels with expertise in Immigration, Settlement and Gender Issues. She is the past- president of the Board of Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants, member and past chair of Anti-Human Trafficking sub-committee at the CCR.

As part of the Canadian Senate’s 150th anniversary on 2017, Loly received a medal in recognition for her work with the community. She also is the 2017 recipient of “The Spirit of Barbra Shlifer Award”. Another acknowledgements received by Loly include the “Icons of Empowerment Award” at the third annual Fashions for Passions Gala for her work in the anti-human trafficking field. She has also received the Constance E. Hamilton Award by the City of Toronto in 2004 for advocating for women’s rights and social justice. She shared the YMCA Peace Medallion Award with her husband, Francisco Rico Martinez in 2006.

Loly Rico has been immersed in community work and has many years of experience working with newcomers in Canada supporting their integration into Canadian society with dignity. In recent years, she has worked closely with other service providers in the city of Toronto to develop a response model to combat human trafficking and to provide holistic services for trafficked persons.