Tony Souza elected chairman of the DSA

The Board of Directors of the Downtown Sarasota Alliance elected Tony Souza to be its new Chairman of the Board.

Tony Souza is a Realtor with Coldwell Banker’s Longboat Key office and specializes in downtown residential real estate.

Souza retired as Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity Sarasota, Inc. in 2009 and previously served as the President of the former Downtown Partnership of Sarasota, Inc. In that position, he was the leading force to create the Downtown Historic District. At the Partnership, he was involved in the planning for the revitalization of Fruitville Road and the creation of a Downtown Improvement District.

Before Souza moved to Sarasota, he served for 10 years as the Executive Director of WHALE, the Waterfront Historic Area League of New Bedford, Mass. That organization led the effort to revitalize 14 blocks of the old downtown area, which was named the New Bedford Whaling National Park in 1996.

He and his wife, Elsie Souza, are principals in CHELSTON Partners, their consulting firm. They consult on Interior design and construction, historic Preservation, nonprofit management, and property management.