RICHARD HILL ADAMS
Richard Hill Adams, chairman and CEO for American Realty Capital Advisors Inc. (ARCA), has more than 30 years of professional experience in the funding of major real estate projects across the United States. Based in Laguna Hills, Calif., ARCA provides financing for land acquisition, debt and equity loans, and construction loans for self-storage and mixed-use projects.

Richard has participated in all phases of the negotiation of interim, permanent and joint-venture financing for self-storage and RV/boat storage projects. In addition to funding the first RV/boat-storage condominium project in the western United States, he has funded mixed-use projects, office buildings, shopping centers, multi-family housing, industrial buildings, residential tracts, and specialty projects. His interaction with decision-makers has created a broad perspective on the underwriting criteria for life-insurance companies, banks, pension funds, Wall Street, institutional and other lenders on a national basis to successfully structure major project financing.

LINNEA APPLEBY
Linnea Appleby has been actively involved in management and finance for 27 years and in self-storage for 10 years. She is the president of Sarasota, Fla.-based PDQ Management Solutions Inc., which specializes in self-storage facility management and services such as operational consulting, new-facility startup, property audits and the “Income Finder Service.” She launched the company to serve the growing number of owners who are looking for expert leadership, experience and guidance in successful facility management. Linnea’s company also manages the Florida Self Storage Association, where she is a past president.

Linnea has a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of South Florida and a background in financial planning. She is also an active member and past president of Toastmasters. In addition, Linnea is a faculty member for the national Self Storage Association’s Manager Certification Course, a presenter for the Self-Storage Training Institute, and a frequent speaker/presenter at various industry tradeshows and events.

Dan has 25 years of sales and marketing experience. He has led sales teams at small regional software companies as well as large multi-national corporations. His common sense and time-proven methodologies will help make companies more successful in their sales efforts.

M. ANNE BALLARD
Anne Ballard is the president of Universal Management Co., which has specialized in operating self-storage sites for 15 years and currently manages 45 U.S. facilities. Annually recognized on industry “top operator” lists, the company works to improve the income of the assets it manages.

With her global experience in self-storage consulting, Anne is sought after for staff training and new store openings. She has served on the board of directors for the national Self Storage Association, the Georgia Self Storage Association, and the former association for the Southeast Region. Enthusiasm and knowledge are hallmarks of her style.

NICK BILAVA
Nick Bilava is an account executive with USstoragesearch.com, an Internet hub for the self-storage industry that connects online consumers to storage facilities nationwide. Based in Omaha, Neb., the company is growing quickly, with a creative culture that constantly pushes the industry’s boundaries for greater profit.

Nick works with storage operators as they integrate Internet marketing into their business model. Over the past three years, he has worked with hundreds of facilities to help them succeed in the online marketplace. He specializes in showing clients how best practices can help them track their marketing efforts.

Marc is a regular speaker at national self-storage conventions and a published author regarding trends within the industry. He is also a partner in the development and management of award-winning self storage facilities.

Licensed from coast to coast, MST offers adaptive services in multi- and single-story, climate-controlled or traditional self-storage and specialty storage. The company brings together a project’s owner, construction professionals, design professionals and subcontractors in a team-build process that increases accountability, shortens build time and ensures quality.

Bert was hired into the self-storage industry in 1985 while attending college part-time as an architectural student. Before starting EGAD, Bert gained an in-depth knowledge of the business while working for material suppliers, climbing from an entry-level project estimator to vice president of sales. In the late ‘90s, he applied his knowledge as a successful developer, owner and operator. He has shared that knowledge with the industry through various trade expertise brings valuable insight and perspective to development, construction, operations, feasibility, efficiency and cost-effective design.

PATT CARLSON
Patt Carlson is the director of operations for Pogoda Management Co., which specializes in brokerage, management, investment, and consulting services for the self-storage and manufactured-housing industries. In her position, Patt manages four regional managers and is responsible for the operation of almost 40 self-storage facilities and manufactured-housing communities throughout the Midwest. She motivates her employees through team-building and staff development, and is responsible for developing and implementing policies and procedures for training, operations and marketing.

Patt received her bachelor’s degree from Loyola University of Chicago. She has more than 20 years of experience in management, consulting, team-building, and real estate sales and marketing with service organizations and real estate industry leaders. Prior to joining Pogoda, she was the lead listing agent for a $49 million real estate team.

With top-notch communication and presentation skills, Patt has conducted classes and seminars on increased productivity, networking in business and the power of team-building. She has also hosted a motivational seminar on strategic sales and marketing for the members of the Michigan Self Storage Association.

JIM CHISWELL
A 20-year veteran of self-storage, Jim Chiswell is a principal of Chiswell & Associates LLC, which provides consulting services to the industry. Prior to starting the firm in 1990, he was vice president of acquisitions for Sovran Self Storage, where he handled facility management for the company’s portfolio of 34 properties in 10 states.

Jim’s experience and reputation in the industry have provided him with the opportunity to write a number of articles for self-storage publications and participate as a principal speaker at Inside Self-Storage expos. He has also published a “Guide of Self Service Storage Acquisition Due Diligence.”

Jim served on the national board of the Self Storage Association and is a past president for the association’s eastern region. His firm also provided overall management for the New York Self Service Storage Association for five years, where he served as the organization’s president.

Jim is an educational consultant to the Self-Storage Training Institute, owned and operated by ISS, as well as a moderator for Self-Storage Talk (www.selfstoragetalk.com), a new online community and forum for the industry.

As a self-storage owner, Bob has a unique perspective that relates to working with other operators. He has provided oversight to industry leaders in such areas as strategic growth, staff effectiveness, marketing, asset-value improvement and acquisitions.

He formerly worked as a regional manager for Metro Storage, where he was responsible for locations throughout Florida, Georgia, Indiana and Ohio, and as a district manager for Public Storage, covering Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee. 

Larry has direct responsibility for negotiating contracts, directing field operations and onsite supervision, establishing and managing budgets and cost reports, and preparing construction schedules. Further, he is responsible for all aspects of company management, including sales, marketing, and directing office and field personnel.

Since its inception five years ago, DAI has grown to a $30 million annual self-storage builder. The company has extensive knowledge of the self-storage construction process including costs, scheduling, techniques, the closeout process and creative value engineering.

SCOTT A. FRANK
Attorney Scott Frank is a partner in the real estate practice group of the West Palm Beach office of Arnstein & Lehr LLP. He has extensive experience in real estate law, representing clients with respect to acquisitions, dispositions, development, financing, land use and condominium law.
Scott has significant leasing experience, representing tenants and landlords with respect to retail, office and industrial properties. He has represented building owners in all aspects of development and leasing, from purchase and sale agreements through closing, financing, permitting and construction contracts.

Scott has also been involved in numerous self-storage transactions. One of his major clients is in the business of developing and operating facilities in South Florida.

JEFFREY J. GREENBERGER

Jeffrey Greenberger is a partner in the law firm of Katz, Greenberger & Norton LLP in Cincinnati, where he focuses his practice on commercial real estate, with a particular concentration in self-storage. He serves facility owners and operators through legal representation or consulting. He can assist operators in the design and implementation of legal policies and procedures as well as other operational issues in most states, with a focus on litigation and liability reduction or avoidance.

Jeff is the legal advisor to several state self-storage associations and is a featured speaker for many national and state industry tradeshows. He is a member of the Inside Self-Storage (ISS) Editorial Advisory Board, and contributes a monthly column titled “Legal Perspectives” to ISS magazine. He also writes a monthly Q&A column for the Mini-Storage Messenger, and his articles often appear in other industry journals.

Jeff is an accredited instructor for the Self-Storage Training Institute’s Qualified Storage Manager program. He also works with ISS to offer a free monthly webinar, “Legal Learning with Jeffrey Greenberger,” on the Second Tuesday of every month. In addition, Jeff is a moderator for Self-Storage Talk, a new online forum and community launched by ISS.

Jeff believes the more he can spread legal knowledge to self-storage owners, operators and managers, the better the industry will thrive. His desire to educate has driven him to launch his own website, www.selfstoragelegal.com, through which you can view some of his recently published articles, learn about hot industry topics, and communicate directly with Jeff and his staff.

BOB HAYWORTH
As CEO and co-founder of Baja Construction Co. Inc., Bob Hayworth has watched his company grow by leaps and bounds over the past 30 years. What was once a modest business run from his garage is now one of the country’s leading carport contractors. Since 1981, Baja has grown from a $250,000-per-year company with 20 employees to a $19-million-per-year company with more than 150 employees and five offices nationwide.

Bob works closely with co-founder and partner Luis Fabian to generate the company’s annual sales. In recent years, he has become an authority in RV- and boat-storage design. Last year, approximately 400 people attended his presentation, “Why You Should Invest in RV & Boat Storage” at the Inside Self-Storage expo in Las Vegas. In addition to selling self-storage, he owns a facility in Manteca, Calif., and is in the process of developing eight acres as an RV/boat storage facility in Northern California.

Ingersoll was recently named to the Sperry Van Ness 2007 Partners Circle, a select group of Advisors who have obtained excellence in sales volume. He was ranked 33 in the United States.

Ingersoll serves on the board of directors of the California Self Storage Association and is treasurer of the organization. He also serves on the board of National Storage Advisors. He is an active member of the Washington Self Storage Association, the Arizona Self Storage Association and the Wharton Club of Northern California.

Prior to affiliating with Sperry Van Ness, Ingersoll served as a multi-family specialist for Cornish & Carey Commercial, where he received the Rookie of the Year award in 2002. Previously, he was a regional manager providing site acquisition, design, entitlements and construction of telecommunications facilities throughout the San Francisco Bay area. For 10 years, he was a vice president of Philadelphia National Bank and a consultant to the banking industry.

RK KLIEBENSTEIN
RK Kliebenstein is the president of Coast-To-Coast Storage, a self-storage consultancy firm. The company offers feasibility studies, site selection, financing, management and marketing services.

RK began his self-storage career in 1985, converting incubator space to storage. He then joined National Self Storage, acting as partner in Self-Storage Mortgage Corp. During his tenure, he was team leader on a project that lead to the first major self-storage mortgage-backed securities transaction.

RK is an industry speaker, author and expert witness in acquiring, developing, managing and financing self-storage properties. He is co-author of the book How to Invest in Self-Storage, and his newest work, How to Make More Money in Self-Storage, will be published in 2008. As a communicator, author and corporate leader, RK has had multiple articles published in industry trade journals and is considered an authority on the topics of self-storage, mobile storage and vehicle storage.

Most recently, Tom managed the Mister Space Self Storage division of The Grupe Co., based in Stockton, Calif. He currently fee manages and consults throughout Australia, Canada, England, France and the United States.

Tom has written more than 100 articles that have been published in several self-storage publications and newspapers including the San Francisco Chronicle. He has served on the Inside Self-Storage Editorial Advisory Board, and written numerous books and operational guides that are sold throughout the industry.

NICHOLAS J. MALAGISI
Nicholas Malagisi serves as national director of self-storage and senior advisor for Sperry Van Ness, specializing in the purchase and sale of self-storage properties. Since 1993, he has participated in the sale of more than 70 properties valued at $350 million, from as small as a single asset of $480,000 to an 11-property portfolio of $33 million.

Nick began his real estate career with industry leader Public Storage, where he was responsible for site acquisition and development of new properties in the Northeast. He also began acquiring existing facilities for Storage Equities, Public Storage’s publicly traded real estate investment trust. Prior to joining Sperry Van Ness, he was the principal broker/owner of Storage Realty Advisors, where he specialized in the marketing, sales and disposition of self-storage throughout the Northeast.

Nick continues to work as a consultant in preparing feasibility studies for new developments, testifying in court as an expert, and preparing valuations of properties for various clients. As a regular attendee of national and regional self-storage conferences, he is a frequent guest speaker on valuation.

Nick is a member of the national Self Storage Association, where he is a past director of the Northeast Board of Directors, as well as a member of the New York Self Storage Association and other state associations. He is also a charter member of the New York State Commercial Association of Realtors, where served on the board for the Western New York chapter and currently serves as chairman of the annual awards dinner.

Previous to the merger of Shurgard and Public Storage in August 2006, all of Jim’s experience was with Shurgard. In his role as regional vice president, he managed 125 West Coast locations. His territory consisted of $1.2 billion in assets and $95 dollars in net operating income (approximately 40 percent of Shurgard’s overall net operating income). His role included all regional real estate responsibilities, which allowed him to implement 15 additional developments on the West Coast over a five-year period.

Jim also served as an advisor to the Shurgard European Operations group, specifically in the training of its executive team in London. Jim has served on the board of directors of the California Self Storage Association since 2005 and is currently serving as association president for the 2008-2010 term.

SCOTT MEYERS
Scott Meyers is a self-storage educator who travels the country revealing why the industry has become the hottest sector in commercial real estate over the past 30 years. After becoming a penniless millionaire in the single-family housing and apartment businesses and experiencing near bankruptcy, he began investing in storage.

Scott is the owner and president of Indianapolis-based Alcatraz Storage, which operates several facilities in the Midwest. He is a Certified Self Storage Manager through the Self Storage Association. He has been a real estate investor since 1993 and speaks to investor groups nationwide.

TRAVIS MORROW
Travis Morrow is the vice president of Tucson, Ariz.-based National Self Storage (NSS), where he began as an intern in January 2003. During his internship, which lasted through May of that year, he developed a prototype for a competitive-analysis database used to track competition trends for all NSS markets. After a two-year activation with the Arizona Army National Guard, Travis rejoined NSS as consulting division manager, conducting feasibility and market-demand studies for the company’s new development and acquisitions. He now provides the same services for third-party clients interested in self-storage development.

Travis was promoted to his current position in January 2006. He is responsible for company acquisition, development and growth. He is also active with state self-storage associations, currently serving as a director on the boards for Arizona and Nevada. Travis received a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Arizona and is the designated real estate broker for National Self Storage Management Inc.

DEREK NAYLOR
Derek M. Naylor is the president of Storage Marketing Solutions (SMS), which implements hundreds of unique, innovative and results-oriented marketing strategies for its self- and mobile-storage clients across the United States.

Derek has consulted in the area of marketing and sales for a diverse assortment of businesses, and his strategies for these entities are directly responsible for generating more than $250 million in increased sales revenue. His professional passion starts and ends with business-growth strategy. In 2004, he was retained by a large, privately owned self-storage company to revamp its marketing and advertising systems. After achieving record-breaking results, Derek founded SMS to help facility operators increase occupancy with lower advertising budgets.

JOSEPH P. NIEMCZYK
Joe Niemczyk began his career with a degree in accounting and spent several years in public accounting. His specialties included auditing, tax preparation and financial planning. In 1981, he joined National Self Storage as its controller, eventually attaining the position of president. While serving as president, he oversaw the construction and operation of more than 40 additional locations throughout the United States, in addition to creating the first formal resident-manager training program in the industry.

After leaving National in 1986, Joe co-created Executive Self Storage Associates Inc. (ESSA). Since its inception, ESSA has been involved in the management, consulting, development and manager training for more than 1,000 facilities across Australia, China, Europe, the United States and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The company oversees the daily operations of more than 3 million square feet of storage across the nation, in addition to providing ongoing market analysis and development of several other projects.

Joe also provides services to the industry associations as a featured speaker at many tradeshows, seminars and workshops focused on manager training, advertising and legal issues related to the day-to-day operation of self-storage.

BRAD NORTH
Brad North is proficient at maximizing the profitability of a self-storage location through sales, marketing and operational effectiveness. Since entering the industry in 1989, he has excelled as an owner, general contractor, developer, general manager, trainer and consultant. He has built more than 350,000 square feet of storage for himself, and trained and consulted with thousands of owners and developers throughout the world.

Brad has written and produced a DVD and workbook training tools titled “Maximizing your Sales and Marketing Program.” He is a recognized columnist and regularly writes for industry publications including Inside Self-Storage. He also speaks at various state and national self-storage conventions.

Brad also provides on-site consulting, private manager training workshops, seminars and feasibility studies to the self-storage industry. In addition, his company, Advantage Business Consulting & Management, offers complete turnkey management services. It currently manages more than 1 million square feet of self-storage throughout the Southeast and Midwest and is expanding to other parts of the United States.

ABC’s vision is to maximize the profitability of self-storage operations by offering owners the best possible management service, with an emphasis on sales, marketing and operational effectiveness. Brad’s philosophy is to create a culture of continual and never-ending improvement that strives for excellence in all facets of a business.

CHARLES A. PLUNKETT
Charles Plunkett began his construction career in 1980. His experience includes welding, fabrication, steel erection and general contracting as well as the design, development and construction of commercial projects. As president and founder of Artistic Builders Inc., Charles has led numerous seminars and been published and featured in industry publications.

According to Charles, his philosophy is, “to provide the highest levels of quality and service at a fair price. Our favorable client-repeat rate is the result of the excellence we deliver in every aspect of every project. Our clients have come to expect it, and it’s the reason we’re often awarded projects on which we may not have been the lowest bidder. We work hard to gain the trust and loyalty of our clients, and we’re gratified that so many of them continue to select us on all of their future projects.”

GEORGIA RAGSDALE
Georgia Ragsdale is the president and CEO of Los Angeles-based Watermark Financial Inc., a licensed commercial mortgage brokerage that focuses on the construction sector, with many clients in the self-storage industry.

Over the past 18 years, Ragsdale has brokered for a hard-money lending source and acquired land for development companies. She has also coached the corporate sales teams of Fortune 500 companies such as GMAC, Charles Schwab, Bank of America, Bank of Hawaii, Gateway, Toshiba America, Herman Miller, Ikon Office Solutions, Daum Commercial Real Estate and Grubb & Ellis. A graduate of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Georgia has used her results-focused drive to close millions of dollars in loans in the commercial, construction and energy sectors.

STEPHAN A. ROSS
Stephan Ross began his self-storage career in 1984, when he worked as city manager for National Self Storage of Tucson, Ariz. He later worked as regional director of Executive Self-Storage and, in 1996, became the vice president of operations for Extra Space Management, where he directed the daily operation of more than 1.5 million square feet of storage.

Stephan has performed feasibility studies all over the United States and in Canada for private investors as well as CitiBank, First Union Bank, Wells Fargo Bank and the RTC among others. In February 2000, he and his wife, Tammy, formed Cutting Edge Self-Storage Management & Consulting. With 25 years of experience, Cutting Edge has become one of the fastest growing management companies within the industry. It currently manages facilities in Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Idaho, Nevada, Missouri, Texas and Utah.

DAVID SMYLE
David Smyle is a 20-year veteran in the commercial real estate financing industry and president of Benchmark Financial, a commercial mortgage banker in La Mesa, Calif. Benchmark provides financing on self-storage, retail, industrial, office, apartments and other commercial properties nationwide through its network of correspondent and wholesale relationships with banks, insurance companies, conduits and other portfolio lenders. The company specializes in funding permanent and construction loans as well as tailoring loan programs to borrower needs.

Formed in 1997, Benchmark has been a supporter and contributor to the industry through articles and seminars, and its association with Inside Self-Storage, other industry publications and the Self Storage Association. Benchmark is also a member of the Better Business Bureau and the Mortgage Bankers Association.

CHARLES RAY WILSON
Charles Ray Wilson is an internationally recognized authority on self-storage investment analysis. He is president of Self Storage Data Services Inc. (SSDS), a research firm he founded in 1992. SSDS maintains a nationwide database of operating statistics on several thousands of facilities, tracking trends in the top 50 U.S. metropolitan statistical areas on a quarterly basis.

In 1975, Ray founded Charles R. Wilson & Associates Inc., a firm specializing in self-storage valuation. He sold the firm in 2007 to Integra Realty Resources-Metro Los Angeles, which continues to specialize in the valuation of self-storage facilities nationwide. Ray’s speaking engagements have included Australia and Europe as well as regular appearances at conferences and tradeshows throughout the United States.

JO BETH WHITE
Jo Beth White is the president of Development Services Inc., which specializes in feasibility analysis for self-storage, RV/boat storage, storage condominiums and records-storage facilities nationwide. Focusing on feasibility analysis since 1999, Jo Beth has completed hundreds of studies for seasoned and new developers and completed feasibility analysis for facilities valuing more than $848 million.

Jo Beth’s background includes 30 years of experience in feasibility, construction, land development and real estate brokerage. Having an in-depth knowledge of construction and development, she provides a unique product to her clientele: full-service critical-path review and feasibility studies that provide balanced, well-thought-out reports that are reality-driven and integrity-based. She continually strives to achieve the highest level of knowledge and is respected in the storage community.