Meet CHA’s Events Czar: Elevating CHA, One Celebration at a Time

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Featured in One CHA: 2024 Year in Review

From retiring the numbers of Boston sports legends to celebrating milestones in affordable housing, Nick DeSouza has proven himself to be a jack-of-all-trades in his role as Executive Assistant to the Executive Director at the Cambridge Housing Authority. Drawing from his unique experiences in the high-pressure world of professional sports, Nick has brought a commitment to excellence and a people-centered approach to his work at the CHA. 

Whether orchestrating ribbon cutting ceremonies, creating memorable moments for residents, or securing the presence of HUD’s Acting Secretary, Nick’s dedication to elevating the agency’s mission shines through. His creative, kind, and collaborative nature fuel his relentless drive to make every event, and every interaction, something special. 

CHA: How have your experiences working with some of Boston’s professional sports organizations translated to your work at the CHA internally and externally, especially with residents?

Nick: Since I was 18-years-old, I have been extremely fortunate to be put into very cool and unique circumstances within the Boston sports world. These are also high-pressure and stressful situations. I was able to build my confidence because of the trust my superiors had in me to not only get the job done but get it done well. It’s been an eye-opening experience to have a front-row seat to both ends of the socioeconomic structure of the nation. If you strip away everything, at the end of the day, the common denominator between both fields is “people.” We are all people who have had vastly different experiences that shape every aspect of our viewpoints. Just keeping in mind that everyone has something to offer based on their perspectives—that is something that should be valued and respected no matter if you agree or disagree. Boston sports fans demand a commitment to excellence from their teams, and that same expectation is placed on their staff. CHA also has a commitment to excellence in the world of deeply affordable housing, so being able to bring that same commitment from one organization to another has really helped guide me.

CHA: You have delivered memorable moments and events for the agency, including ribbon cuttings and groundbreakings. Where do you draw your inspiration, and what tips would you have for yourself on day one of your role at the CHA?

Nick: If you were to take a random person with no knowledge of the event or what we are celebrating, and drop them into an event, my goal is to have the person think, “I may not know what is going on, but I know it’s something special.” I am a very sentimental person, and I love playing with human emotion. In a rapidly paced world with all these stimulants that consume our time and detach us from emotion in many ways, I love being able to crack through that, slow down, and make people feel. I am a big advocate of celebrating and giving flowers while people and things are still around to appreciate and feel their love and praise. My day-one tip would be to just be myself and not be afraid to flex my creativity.

CHA: Your primary duties are to support the work of CHA’s Executive Director, Michael J. Johnston. What has it been like to navigate this role while being entrusted to orchestrate many of the agency’s signature celebrations?

Nick: At times, it can be a bit overwhelming to keep up with it all, but at the end of the day, I believe strongly in my abilities to make it all work. The running joke is that I make these events look easy, but the opposite is true. When planning events, it really consumes my mind, even outside of CHA. I’ll be driving or walking my dog, and I will be thinking, brainstorming, and planning the event. At times, it is the last thing I think about before I go to sleep and the first thing I think about in the morning when I wake up. I enjoy it, though; it is where I have my most fun. There is a certain positive, immeasurable effect that these events have on staff, residents, and event guests.

CHA: Your colleagues speak of your ability to go above and beyond. Is there a specific moment or person you can attribute this to?

Nick: I have three very special ladies in my life who have had the most influence on me as a professional and a person. The first would be my mother. As a young single mom with two boys under three, she had to work multiple jobs to keep us afloat, but she sacrificed so much in her life to put my brother and me in positions where we would best succeed. I learned to work hard and do what you need to do to make things work from her. The second is my grandmother. With my mom always running from job to job, she was instrumental in my brother’s and my upbringing. Although she is no longer with us, she inspired me to be the best person I can be. She would often say, “Do the right thing, even if it isn’t the most popular.” The last, but certainly not least, is my wife, Brooke. She looks out for my well-being better than I look out for myself, and she is the brightest part of my every day. She keeps me sane.

CHA: What has been your favorite event at the agency – and why?

Nick: When I was first hired at CHA, I was an Assistant Manager at Millers River Apartments in East Cambridge. My time there was during the peak of a modernization effort through our Planning & Development Department, so I got to know the residents very well. After my position changed to Executive Assistant, I was lucky enough to spearhead the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony. Although the core of the event was a ribbon-cutting ceremony, we branded it as a “Homecoming.” Without our residents’ cooperation and willingness to be flexible, this work would not have been possible. After the speaking and ribbon-cutting portion of the event was over, we had refreshments and tours of the building available for guests. Once all the guests cleared, we hosted a resident-only dinner with music and great food. This was an opportunity for the residents to exhale, enjoy the company of their neighbors in their brand-new community room, and officially mark the end of construction. Jefferson Park’s Groundbreaking is also at the top of my list. It was my first time spearheading a groundbreaking, but with the Acting HUD Secretary making an appearance, we had some exciting challenges and really honed in on attention to detail for her CHA experience.

CHA: You are credited with inviting and securing Acting HUD Secretary Adrianne Todman for Jefferson Park’s groundbreaking event. What did her presence mean for the agency and community? Also, what unique planning went into preparing for her visit?

Nick: We are so grateful Acting Secretary Todman decided to attend our Groundbreaking Ceremony. As a member of the President’s Cabinet, she is responsible for HUD’s involvement in every corner of the country, so when I wrote the letter to her office to request her attendance, I knew it was a long shot. We had a great program established, so when I got the call back from her office that she was able to commit to attending, we knew that this would take our event to the next level. It was a real feather in the cap of the agency, showing that the work we are doing is truly remarkable and that we are living out our own mission. We had numerous calls with her staff, Secret Service walk-throughs, coordination with Cambridge Police, and finding an area to comfortably host her. We gathered a group of residents, along with Mike and our Deputy Executive Director of Planning, Margaret Moran, to greet her, and she was kind enough to speak with them for 20 minutes about their thoughts. It was really striking when she proposed the question to the residents, “If I could pass along a message to the President on your behalf, what would it be?”