Nationally known portrait artist and advertising guru Lionel Sosa will serve as the commencement speaker on Dec. 12 when OLLU hosts fall graduation ceremonies.

Details of the various graduation events are available at https://www.ollusa.edu/registrars-office/graduation-information.html.

Sosa, an independent marketing consultant, will address students during the 5 p.m. commencement exercises at Freeman Coliseum. A native of San Antonio’s West Side, Sosa served in the U.S. Marine Corps after graduating from Lanier High School. He founded Sosa, Bromley, Aguilar & Associates, the largest Hispanic advertising agency in the U.S. and is an acknowledged expert in Hispanic consumer and voter behavior. He was a political media consultant on eight national presidential campaigns.

Sosa was named “One of the 25 most influential Hispanics in America” by Time Magazine, earned recognition from the Texas Business Hall of Fame and was selected as one of the 25 Most Influential Texans by Texas Monthly Magazine.

Sosa is the author of three books and is co-author of two others. His publications include “Think and Grow Rich, a Latino Choice,” published by Random House, and “The American Dream: How Latinos Can Achieve Success in Business and Life,” published by Dutton. He is also co-author of “El Vaquero Real – the Original American Cowboy,” published by Bright Sky Press.

He and his wife, Kathy Sosa, a prominent artist, co-authored the book “Children of the Revolucion – How the Mexican Revolution Changed America,” distributed by Texas University Press. Lionel Sosa’s large mural “Living in My Skin: A Look into San Antonio’s Black Community,” displayed next to the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, features 33 Black men.

Kathy and Lionel co-produced the recent “Otro Lado del Espejo Art" exhibit in Queretaro, Mexico, as well as its accompanying documentary which ran on KLRN Public Television. Sosa’s portraits of people from all walks of life adorn the walls of OLLU’s Main Building.