Speakers (in alphabetical order)

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.

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.

EUGENE “GENE” BONINA
    Gene Bonina began his insurance career in 1960 as an adjuster in Stamford, Conn., where he owned his own adjusting firm. In 1972, he moved to Boca Raton, Fla., and in 1977, he opened Bonina Insurance. He is now senior vice president of Wells Fargo, where he has worked since the institution purchased his agency in 1986. There he is backed by an experienced staff of account managers who are experts in self-storage and other types of insurance.
    Gene specializes in managing risk for self-storage, construction, restaurants and other real estate. He is heavily involved with property managers and developers, and is considered a leader in the area of workers’ compensation coverage and related programs.  
    Since joining Wells Fargo, Gene has consistently received Circle of Excellence Awards and has also received awards for Top Property/Casualty Producer of the Year. He serves on the board of the State of Florida Homebuilders Association and is a past chairman of insurance for the South Florida Manufacturing Association. He has also served on the boards of many non-profit organizations involving youth sports, community hunger and homeless programs. 

MARC A. BOORSTEIN
    Marc A. Boorstein, CCIM, is a principal with MJ Partners Real Estate Services. In 1993, he co-founded MJ Partners Self Storage Group, which represents self-storage operators, institutional investors and lenders nationwide in the disposition, acquisition and financing of portfolios and single-assets. Marc is responsible for orchestrating more than $1 billion in real estate transactions, and maintains relationships with leading participants and new investors entering the industry.
    Marc is the owner and operator of an award-winning self-storage facility. He is also a frequent speaker and author regarding trends in the industry, with articles appearing in Inside Self-Storage magazine. He graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Illinois and the London School of Economics and Political Science.

BRIAN BYRD
    Brian Byrd is the vice president of sales and marketing for Landvest Corp., a self-storage management company based in Wichita, Kan. Brian has been involved in sales since college and has worked in some aspect of real estate and sales management for more than 10 years. Landvest offers third-party management options, training, consulting and development services to the self-storage and multi-family housing industries.

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.

BOB COPPER
    Bob Copper teams with self-storage professionals to help them improve collections, conduct facility audits and improve their overall operation. A current self-storage owner, Bob formerly worked as a regional manager for Metro Storage, where he was responsible for 32 locations throughout Florida, Georgia, Indiana and Ohio, and as a district manager for Public Storage, covering Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee. He has provided oversight to industry leaders in such areas as strategic growth, staff effectiveness, marketing, investment and budgeting. 

FRED GRAUER
    Fred Grauer has been active in the car-wash industry since joining the family business in his early teens. He has dedicated his life to car-washing, having been a manufacturer, operator, distributor, developer and designer. The manufacturing companies he has owned or partnered in have supplied thousands of car-wash systems. He and his family have been involved in or operated more than 15 self-serve locations and 50 conveyor-tunnel car washes.
    Fred has the served more terms on the International Car Wash Association Board of Directors than anyone in the organization’s history. His contributions in that role have covered a full spectrum of issues including marketing, insurance, safety, governance and most things in between.
    A long-time industry spokesperson, Fred offers lectures, seminars, articles and consulting to existing and new car-wash operators. He has been a guest lecturer and professor at the University of Pennsylvania and Rutgers University. Currently, he is a partner in Whistle Clean Car Wash, Grauer Associates and Tortuga Racing Partners, and he serves as executive vice president of investor and conveyor services for Ryko Manufacturing Co.

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 a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and received his law degree from the University of Dayton. His niche originated in his home town of Cincinnati, where he began helping developers, managers and operators of apartment buildings more than 15 years ago. Over the last decade, his professional expertise has developed in tandem with the rise of the self-storage industry across the United States.
    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.

NEAL GUSSIS
    Neal Gussis joined Beacon Realty Capital in 2000 and has been a principal with the firm since 2003. He is one of the self-storage industry’s best-known finance executives, and is a frequent speaker at national and regional self-storage tradeshows and seminars. During his career, he has secured more than $1 billion in self-storage financing for client transactions nationwide. In addition to self-storage, Neal places debt and equity on other commercial real estate property types. Prior to joining Beacon, he was a principal at First Security Commercial Mortgage, where he was one of the founders and directed the firm’s self-storage practice. A certified public accountant, Neal began his career with Altschuler, Melvoin and Glasser, where he focused on real estate and financial-services assignments.

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.

SHAWN HILL
    Shawn Hill joined Beacon Realty Capital in 2002 and became a senior vice president in 2007. He works with clients to originate and place debt and equity for all property types, with an emphasis on self-storage and multi-family properties. Along with managing single-property traditional financing, Shawn’s expertise includes structured financing for highly leveraged transactions. His professional background includes working at the Duff and Phelps Credit Rating Agency, Cargan (an online commercial-banking venture), and as a commercial-loan underwriter for Wells Fargo Bank.

DEVIN HUBER
    Devin Huber joined Beacon Realty Capital in 2005 and became a senior vice president in 2007. He is responsible for originating the full spectrum of financing―from development to permanent financing―for self-storage and single- and multi-tenant real estate transactions. Prior to Beacon, Devin worked at GE Commercial Finance Business Property, where he focused on financing traditional mortgages, sale and leaseback deals, and construction to permanent financing for real estate developers, intermediaries and middle-market companies.

MEL HOLSINGER
    Mel Holsinger has been in the self-storage industry since 1983. He began his self-storage career with National Self-Storage in Tuscon, Ariz. After leaving NSS in 1987, Mel started and was a principal in Executive Self-Storage Associates, a position he held for 17 years. He founded Tucson-based Professional Self-Storage management in January 2005 and is the principal, president and CEO of the company.

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.

JAMIE LINDAU
    Jamie Lindau, national sales manager for Trachte Building Systems, has more than 20 years of experience in self-storage building and consulting. During his career, he has assisted more than 800 self-storage owners with the acquisition, layout, feasibility, building design and purchase of their sites. He is a regular contributor to Inside Self-Storage magazine and other industry publications. Jamie has conducted more than 150 self-storage development seminars for Trachte since 1987.

BRUCE McCARDLE
    Bruce McCardle is the vice president of Eastern Division Operations for Mako Steel Inc. He has worked in architectural design, development, construction and the metal-building manufacturing business since 1977, and has worked specifically in the self-storage industry for 11 years. He is a member of the Florida Self-Storage Association Board of Directors, a writer with articles published in industry magazines, and a frequent presenter of self-storage seminars.

MICHAEL A. MELE
     Michael Mele, a Florida self-storage specialist, is the vice president of investments and the senior director of the National Self Storage Group for Marcus & Millichap. Since joining the company in 1999, he has closed more than 105 self-storage transactions totaling more than $400 million.
     Mike has extensive knowledge of the Florida self-storage market. He is a frequent guest speaker at industry events and a contributing writer for publications such as Inside Self-Storage. He keeps current on pertinent industry data such as market rents, rental-rate trends, recent sales, and new construction for every submarket via consistent research and analysis. He is affiliated with the national Self Storage Association, the Florida Self Storage Association, the Florida Gulf Coast Commercial Association of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors.

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.

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.

MIKE PARHAM
    Mike Parham has worked in the self-storage industry for more than 25 years. He is the founder and president of Noah’s Ark Development, a Parham Group company that provides consulting, joint venturing, third-party development, site analysis, feasibility analysis and market feasibility. The company has developed 3.2 million square feet of self-storage to date.
    Mike is also the developer and general partner of the Noah’s Ark Self Storage chain and the CEO and president of NDS Construction, a general contractor specializing in self-storage design and construction. The Parham Group also includes Maverick Investments, Cross Metal Buildings and Joshua Management.  

KENNETH M. PIKEN
    Ken Piken, who has been practicing law for more than 25 years, is the managing partner in the New York-based law firm of Piken & Associates. He received a dual bachelor’s degree with honors from Monmouth University in New Jersey and obtained his Juris Doctor from Cardozo School of Law. Prior to obtaining his JD, he graduated from the World Trade Institute in paralegal studies specializing in logistics management.
    Ken was general counsel for the New York Self Storage Association for more than 15 years. He has lectured throughout the United States and written articles on self-storage for almost every major trade publication. He has also been an expert witness in courts throughout the United States and participated in drafting and lobbying for the lien law in New York. As general counsel, he was instrumental in obtaining the favorable sales-tax ruling from New York State.
    Ken’s firm encompasses all aspects of law, with a concentration in real estate and logistics matters that include acquisition and litigation. The firm has participated in or handled virtually every appellate case in New York affecting self-storage operators, all with favorable results.
    Ken has lectured to the industry no less than 50 times and has been quoted by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The New York Observer and numerous other publications. He has also appeared on “48 Hours,” Channel 1 Manhattan Cable and Channel 12 Long Island.

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.

DEE WISEMAN SHARP
    Dee Wiseman Sharp has been in the business-insurance industry for 19 years. Her areas of specialty include self-storage, construction, real estate development, investment properties and overnight rental properties.
    Dee’s involvement in industry associations includes active membership in the Tennessee Home Builders Association and Real Estate Investors of Knoxville. She is also a founding board member of the Tennessee Self Storage Association, the Loudon County Chamber of Commerce and Insurers of Tennessee. A Tennessee native, Dee shares the concerns of business operators who live and work in the Southeast.

RANDY J. TIPTON
    Randy Tipton owns and operates Universal Insurance, an entrepreneurial business that has created and provided specialized insurance coverages to the self-storage industry for almost 15 years. Randy is a seasoned industry professional with more than 30 years of insurance underwriting, marketing and management experience.
    Randy attends self-storage tradeshows across the country, holds insurance seminars, and speaks with facility owners from east to west and everything in between. She is viewed by many as one of the leading self-storage insurance experts in the country and is called on by many for advice regarding coverage options. Her industry knowledge has led her to be a moderator and instructor for a variety of educational forums.

MINH TRAN
    Based out of Houston, Minh Tran is the co-leader of the Private Capital Practice for Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP’s Self Storage Group.  Minh oversees the development and use of the group's private investor databases, directs its private-client prospecting efforts, and provides editorial management for the group’s newsletters. He primarily works with clients in the eastern portion of the country to support them throughout their property acquisition and disposition transactions. He is a frequent contributing author to state and national self-storage trade publications and speaks on real estate issues at industry events nationwide.

BOBBY WILLIS
     Bobby Willis has been in the car-wash industry for 13 years. He owns and operates a successful Virginia car-wash chain, Cool Wave Carwashes, and is the investor market manager for Ryko Manufacturing Co. Bobby speaks often at regional and national tradeshows on car-wash marketing and site selection.

CHARLES RAY WILSON
    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.

CAESAR WRIGHT
    Caesar is president of Mako Steel Inc., one of the leaders in the self-storage construction industry. Caesar been in the steel business his entire career and has risen from an entry-level sales position to CEO at a remarkably young age. He is respected in the industry for his ability to manage, negotiate and succeed without compromising his integrity or his sense of humor.

BOB VAMVAS
    Bob Vamvas has spent the past 15 years consulting in a multitude of industries and bringing his talents to the self-storage business. During his career, Bob has served as the regional practice leader for learning and development for Deloitte and Touche, an area section supervisor for employee learning and development for Exxon, and the former national sales director for a national self-storage call center. He has written for various publications over the years, including industry magazines such as Inside Self-Storage.