Story and Mission

Our Story, Our Mission

The Sarasota Alliance for Historic Preservation, Inc., a non-profit, publicly-supported 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to "Preserve and enhance our historic places through advocacy, education, technical and financial support, and celebration."

SAHP was incorporated in 1985 in an effort to save architect Dwight Baum's El Vernona Hotel located near the intersection of US 41 and Gulfstream Avenue. The hotel, built in 1925 by renowned developer Owen Burns had come to be known as the John Ringling Towers.

Our highly publicized effort to save the towers during the late 1990s raised the community's consciousness and the ire of those interested in saving the historical integrity of Sarasota, Florida.

The Alliance is comprised of more than 500 residents, visitors, artists, architects, engineers, historians, builders, archaeologists, Realtors, planners, designers, and writers working together to preserve and encourage others to preserve - not only the remaining significant landmarks - but also the contributing structures that define Sarasota County.

We hope you will return frequently to learn about our current activities, and what we and others are doing to preserve our heritage. Thank you for your interest in preservation; we look forward to working with you!

Make a Gift

El Vernona Hotel, near US 41 and Gulfstream Avenue was built in 1925 by renowned developer Owen Burns. Over time, it had come to be known as the John Ringling Towers.

Leadership

Meet Our Amazing Leadership Team

Our board of directors is composed of individuals who, on the basis of their knowledge and experience, make valuable contributions to the overall conduct of the Sarasota Alliance for Historic Preservation. Board candidates are considered based upon various criteria, including their broad-based business skills, experience in relevant areas critical to our mission, reputation in their professions, social perspective and personal integrity and judgment.

Dave Baber

President

Owner, Historic Preservation Solutions. Mr. Baber has over fourty-seven years of experience in activities associated with protecting and preserving historic resources in Virginia, Connecticut, and Florida. He currently serves on the Sarasota County Historic Preservation Board. Mr. Baber was also a director at the Sarasota County Department of Historical Resources. His involvement in the historic preservation field has included the development and management of local historic preservation programs, conducting or supervising the preparation of historic sites surveys, preparing historic designation applications for the National Register of Historic Places and local historic designation programs, and providing oversight and supervision of projects to restore or rehabilitate historic buildings. He was awarded degrees in architectural engineering and historic preservation from Roger Williams University.

Lorrie Muldowney

Immediate Past President

Executive Committee

Owner, Creative Preservation. Ms. Muldowney has over forty-seven years of experience in historic preservation and county administration in Sarasota. During the 1980s, she worked for the City of Sarasota in public art, downtown revitalization, and historic preservation. She was later Director of Sarasota County Department of Historical Resources. Ms. Muldowney holds master’s degrees in architectural and urban and Regional Planning.

H. LeBaron (Barry) Preston Vice President

SP2 Committee Chair

Mr. Preston is a Founder, Managing Director, and Chief Financial Officer of the Armory Revival Company, the Providence Revival Building Company, and Armory Properties LLC. Mr. Preston has partnered to restore seven historic mills in New England, has developed, built, or rehabbed and managed more than 600 homes - condominiums and rentals, including affordable housing, and has developed three retail marketplaces. He is a past president and a founding member of the Board of Trustees of the Providence (Rhode Island) Preservation Society Revolving Fund; past President of the Providence Preservation Society; member of the Community Advisory Board of Santander Community Development Corporation and a member of the Advisory Board of Sovereign Community Development Corporation, Wyomissing, PA. He is a Yale University graduate with a law degree from the University of Chicago.

Erin DiFazio

Executive Committee

SP2 Program Director

Ms. DiFazio is a Florida licensed Realtor specializing in selling and marketing historic properties and restoration design. Her experience includes work as a Historic Restoration Contractor in Connecticut, writing and editing for an architectural trade magazine, and a management position for a contracting company specializing in historic restoration and custom design in Connecticut. She also has experience in the acquisition and restoration of historic properties.

Tom McArdle

Secretary & Treasurer Executive Committee

SP2 Committee

Mr. McArdle has an M.A. in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Iowa. He has over thirty years of experience in commercial real estate valuation, acquisitions, dispositions, multi-family and commercial mortgage financing, investment analytics & reporting. He retired from New York Life Investment Management in 2010.

Sarasota Alliance for Historic logomark PNG.png

Nancy DeForge

Director

Ms. DeForge is a retired teacher and is a member of the Preservation Committee of the Venice Area Historical Society. She has been involved in civic organizations in Vermont and Venice, including the Secretary of the Lockvernese Homeowners Association in Inverness, Florida, and the Early Childhood Board in Lamoille County, Vermont. She is Chairman of the Garden Committee of the Laurel Hollow H.O.A., is a Summer Springs Sweet Adaline’s Board member in the Ocala area and does marketing & publicity for the Venetian Harmony Sweet Adaline’s Chorus. Ms. DeForge is the SAHP's representative on the History and Preservation Coalition of Sarasota County.

Tony Souza
Director

SP2 Committee Co-Chair

Mr. Souza has extensive experience in the fields of historic preservation, adaptive reuse and construction. He has served as the Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity Sarasota, Inc. Before Habitat, he was the President and CEO of the Downtown Partnership of Sarasota. He successfully proposed the creation of a downtown historic district to the Board of the Partnership and the City of Sarasota. He led the planning for revitalizing Fruitville Road and creating a Downtown Improvement District and chaired two community-wide planning charrettes. Before moving to Sarasota, he served for 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, named the New Bedford Whaling National Park, in 1996. Tony is a frequent speaker about Sarasota’s development. He has given numerous lectures on American Architecture for more than 25 years.

Jan Vertefeuille
Director

Preservation Committee Chair

Jan is a resident of Venice and very active in Preservation efforts in the city. Her interests and expertise are in policy development and public policy advocacy. She is employed with the World Wildlife Fund, the largest conservation in the world, and leads advocacy campaigns for that organization. Jan owns one of Venice's historic homes and has been using her skills to help protect the Venice Historic Preservation Program from being gutted by pro-business and pro-development forces in the city.

Larry Humes

Director

Preservation & Media

Larry is a journalist and author who resides in Venice. He is noted particularly for his works on the history of Venice and is a regular contributor to the Sarasota Herald Tribune and Venice Gondolier, several of which have won Florida Press Association Awards in the category of Community History. He is a past president of Venice Heritage, Inc. and received its Community Service Award in 2021. Larry’s contributions were also recognized in 2022 as a recipient of the Sarasota County Heritage Award for Historical Research. He is currently completing a book on the history of Venice.

Kathy Perlman, Director
Events, Education and Programming

Committee Chair

Kathy is a resident of Sarasota County and has been involved in preservation efforts in East County and the City of Sarasota, attempting to prevent overdevelopment and loss of historical resources. Her varied career encompasses diverse roles, including, most recently, the owner of a home staging business in Sarasota, and a restaurant and home catering business in New Jersey. She previously served for five years on the Child Advocacy Center Board in Monmouth County, NJ, and four of those years as its events chairperson. The organization successfully raised enough funds to initiate construction of a center for abused children.

Phillip Thierman

Director

Media, Events and Education

Phillip is a media consultant who has completed assignments for Chubb, Home Depot, Webstaurants, and Spirit, among others. He is active in the Sarasota preservation and arts scene, working with other NGOs to boost programming and visibility to support their programs. He works on the SAHP’s media and marketing programs and manages our analytics for social media channels. He is a member of Architecture Sarasota as well and is passionate about preservation.

Jan Hetland
Director

Jan is a recently retired attorney. who specialized in Federal tax credit programs and syndications, including historic and low income tax credits. Jan lives in downtown Sarasota and splits her time between here and Minneapolis, MN.

Join Our Team

We have Board and Committee seats available! Our team is active, engaged, and persevere in the face of challenges, and have creative problem-solving skills. If this sounds like a good fit, please contact us today. We are in specific need for legal expertise and social media management.

Board Meetings take place monthly with Zoom access available. Some committees meet once or twice per year, and others meet monthly.

Click here to contact us and learn more.