NATIONAL STORAGE AFFILIATES - Key Persons

Arlen D. Nordhagen

Job Titles:
  • Co - Founder of NSA
  • Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees
Arlen Nordhagen co-founded SecurCare Self Storage in 1988 to invest in and manage self storage properties. In 2007, SecurCare raised $100M of institutional capital to expand the platform. Mr. Nordhagen subsequently recognized a market opportunity for a differentiated public self storage REIT that would leverage the benefits of national scale by integrating multiple experienced regional operators with local operational focus and expertise. Mr. Nordhagen's vision culminated in the formation of NSA in 2013 by three founding PROs (SecurCare, Northwest and Optivest). Arlen D. Nordhagen is a co-founder of NSA and currently serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees. He served as Executive Chairman of NSA from 2020 to 2023, Chairman from 2015 to 2020, Chief Executive Officer from inception in 2013 - 2020, and President and Chief Executive Officer of SecurCare from 1999 to 2013. Arlen has over 30 years of experience in the self storage industry, beginning in 1988 when he co-founded NSA's predecessor, SecurCare Self Storage. In addition to SecurCare, Arlen was a founder of MMM Healthcare, Inc., the largest provider of Medicare Advantage health insurance in Puerto Rico. He has also served as managing member of various private investment funds and held various managerial positions at DuPont (NYSE: DD) and Synthetech, Inc. (NYSE: GRA). Arlen graduated with high distinction from Harvard University with a Masters in Business Administration and graduated summa cum laude from the University of North Dakota with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering.

Brandon S. Togashi - CFO, EVP

Job Titles:
  • Chief Financial Officer
  • Executive Vice President
As our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Brandon S. Togashi oversees all financial functions for the Company including treasury, capital markets, accounting, and taxation. In addition, Brandon serves as Chairman of the PRO Advisory Committee. Prior to his appointment as our CFO, Brandon served as our Chief Accounting Officer beginning in January 2017, and previous to that served as our Vice President and Controller since joining the Company in December 2014. Previously, he served as Vice President of Corporate Accounting at DCT Industrial Trust, a publicly traded industrial REIT, and Senior Manager at KPMG in the accounting firm's audit and advisory practice. Brandon holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Colorado State University and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Chad Meisinger

Job Titles:
  • Trustee
  • Chief Executive Officer of over the Top ( "OTT" ) Marketing
  • Member of Compensation, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
  • Trustee / Member / Finance Committee
Mr. Meisinger is the Chief Executive Officer of Over The Top ("OTT") Marketing, which he founded in 2006. OTT Marketing provides multi-location businesses with large scale, inbound digital customer acquisition services that are delivered through a proprietary software platform. In addition, Mr. Meisinger co-founded Thinique Medical Weight Loss in 2013 and built it to over 200 franchised units within a year before selling ownership interests to one of his co-founders. Mr. Meisinger also had the regional development rights for The Joint Corp. between 2011 and 2014, where he was developing more than 40 chiropractic clinics throughout Los Angeles County. Prior to founding OTT, Mr. Meisinger served as Head of Affiliate Sales and Marketing for Google Radio from 2006 to 2009. He joined Google Radio after serving as a key investor and Chief Marketing Officer of dMarc Broadcasting, which was acquired by Google Radio in February of 2006. Mr. Meisinger also served as co-founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of First MediaWorks from 1999 to 2005, which provided the radio industry with a proprietary software platform and marketing services to help increase ratings and revenue. First MediaWorks was sold to Mediaspan in 2005. Beginning in 1995, Mr. Meisinger served as co-founder, Chief Executive Officer and Board Trustee of First Internet Franchise Corporation, the first Internet Service Providers (ISP) franchisor in the world with hundreds of franchise territories licensed worldwide.

Charles Wu

Job Titles:
  • Trustee
Mr. Wu currently is a Senior Lecturer of Business Administration at Harvard University's Graduate School of Business, where he has taught since 2015. In 2015, he retired from his role as Managing Director of BayNorth Capital, a Boston-based private real estate equity firm, which he co-founded in July 2004. Prior to co-founding BayNorth Capital, Mr. Wu co-founded the private equity firm Charlesbank Capital Partners in July 1998 and served as Managing Director for 6 years. Prior to co-founding Charlesbank Capital Partners, he served for 3 years as a Managing Director of its predecessor firm, Harvard Private Capital Group, the private equity and real estate investment unit of Harvard Management Company. Prior to this role, Mr. Wu was a Managing Director at Aldrich Eastman & Waltch ("AEW"), where he directed the restructuring group and was a portfolio manager. Prior to AEW, Mr. Wu worked at Morgan Stanley in their corporate finance department. Mr. Wu currently serves as a Trustee for the University of Massachusetts and is also a Board member of the University of Massachusetts Building Authority. He is the Vice-Chair of Newton-Wellesley Hospital. Mr. Wu was a founding board member of the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, a past President of the Newton Schools Foundation, and a former member of Harvard University's Facilities and Planning Committee. Mr. Wu has a Masters of Business Administration, with distinction, and a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from Harvard University.

Curt Fleming

David Cramer - CEO, President

Job Titles:
  • Chief Executive Officer
  • President
  • Board Member for the Storage Business Owners Alliance Tenant Insurance
David Cramer was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer in April 2023. Before assuming his current role, Mr. Cramer served as President and Chief Operating Officer since July 2022 and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer from April 2020 to July 2022. In addition, he has served as the Chairman of NSA's Best Practices Committee since its inception. David has more than 24 years of experience in the self storage industry beginning in 1998 when he joined SecurCare Self Storage, the predecessor company to NSA. At SecurCare, he served as Director of Operations from 1998 to 2005, Chief Operating Officer from 2005 to 2013, and President and Chief Executive Officer from 2013 to 2020. Prior to joining SecurCare Self Storage, David worked for Target (NYSE:TGT) for 12 years where he held several operational and managerial positions. David currently serves as a board member for the Storage Business Owners Alliance Tenant Insurance program (SBOATI). SBOATI is an insurance product that was created by self storage owners for self storage owners.

Derek Bergeon - COO, EVP

Job Titles:
  • Chief Operating Officer
  • Executive Vice President
Derek Bergeon was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in April 2023. Before assuming his current role, Mr. Bergeon served as Senior Vice President of Operations since May 2019. Prior to joining the Company, Derek served in various roles at Extra Space Storage since 2010, including most recently as Division Vice President from 2015 to 2019. Mr. Bergeon is a veteran of the United States Navy and has over 20 years of experience in operations and multi-unit management. Derek holds a Bachelor's Degree in business administration from Ashford University (summa cum laude).

Dominic Palazzo

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Audit Committee
  • Trustee and Audit Committee Chair
  • Trustee and Audit Committee Chair / Chair Expert
Mr. Palazzo has more than 34 years of combined experience in public accounting and industry, including 29 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC (‘‘PwC''). Mr. Palazzo most recently held the position of Audit Partner at PwC until his retirement in 2011. While at PwC Mr. Palazzo was responsible for the real estate practice in their Denver, Colorado office. His expertise is in due diligence, mergers and acquisitions, public equity and debt offerings, corporate restructurings and financings. While at PwC his clients included Chateau Communities, Affordable Residential Communities, and other private real estate companies. He also served real estate clients that developed a number of different types of real estate assets, including multi-family, office, hotels and resort properties. As a partner at PwC, Mr. Palazzo was responsible for the initial public offering of Affordable Residential Communities in 2004 and was responsible for a significant consulting project for a multi-family public REIT in connection with an SEC investigation. In addition, Mr. Palazzo served in the PwC National Accounting and SEC Directorate in New York City where he performed technical accounting consultations and research for PwC. Mr. Palazzo was also the past president of the Executive Real Estate Roundtable and a former member of the Colorado Society of CPAs and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Palazzo graduated from DePaul University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting.

George Hoglund

Job Titles:
  • Vice President - Investor Relations

Lisa Cohn

Job Titles:
  • Trustee
Lisa is the President and General Counsel of Apartment Income REIT Corp. or AIR (NYSE: AIRC) which was created from the separation transaction of Aimco (NYSE: AIV). She has specific responsibility for governance, information technology and process innovation, human resources, and legal. Lisa also serves on the NAREIT Advisory Board of Governors. Prior to her role with AIR, Lisa served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary of Aimco, which she joined in 2002. During her tenure, Lisa has had increasing levels of responsibilities across the company, serving as a cross-functional leader of the organization. In addition to serving as General Counsel, Lisa has had responsibility for construction services, asset quality and service, insurance, risk management, human resources, property dispositions nationwide, and Aimco's acquisition activities in the western region. She has also previously served as chairman of Aimco's investment committee. Prior to joining Aimco, Lisa was engaged in the private practice of law at Hogan & Hartson LLP (now Hogan Lovells), with an emphasis on public and private transactional work, public equity offerings and venture capital financing. She also spent two years as a Federal judicial clerk. Lisa earned her undergraduate degree (with honors and distinction) in public policy from Stanford University and earned her law degree (cum laude) from Harvard Law School and served on the Harvard Law Review, including as managing editor. Lisa is active in her community. Since 2022, she has served on the Board of Directors of BBYO. Since 2018, she has served on the Board of Trustees of the Craig Hospital Foundation and serves as the chair of the Foundation's Finance and Investment Committee. From 2010-2020 she served as a trustee of the Rose Community Foundation. From 2012-2015, Lisa served as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Denver Jewish Day School and served on the Board of Trustees from 2008 to 2016.

Mark Van Mourick

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Audit Committee
  • Trustee
Mark Van Mourick has over 4 decades of experience as a leading wealth manager and real estate investor. Mr. Van Mourick established Optivest Wealth Management in 1987, managing the investment portfolios of several of the nation's wealthiest families. In 2007, he and Mr. Warren Allan founded Optivest Properties to buy self storage facilities and operate them under the name of RightSpace Storage. In 2012 Optivest Properties joined with NorthWest and SecurCare to form National Storage Affiliates (NSA), which went public in 2015; Mr. Van Mourick has been a board member since inception. He retired in 2019 to pursue his philanthropic passions via The Optivest Foundation. In addition to his expertise in stocks and finance, he is the author of "Cash Out, Cash In - The After Success Investment Guide" and has served on the executive boards of numerous companies and nonprofit entities. Mr. Van Mourick is a graduate of the University of Southern California with dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in International Finance and Business Management.

Marti Dowling

Job Titles:
  • Senior Director - Investor Relations

Melissa Cameron - CMO, SVP

Job Titles:
  • Chief Marketing Officer
  • Senior Vice President
Melissa Cameron was appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer in April 2024. Before assuming her current role, Mrs. Cameron served as Senior Vice President of Customer Acquisitions since 2021, and Vice President of Marketing from 2018 to 2021. Melissa has over 25 years of digital marketing experience. Prior to joining the company, Melissa served for over five years at Extra Space Storage (NYSE: EXR), most recently as Senior Director of Digital Marketing, where she led the digital marketing and customer experience teams. Before Extra Space, from 2005 through 2012, Melissa worked at a New York-based digital marketing agency as a Sr. Digital Marketing Consultant and then as Vice President of Client Services. Melissa holds a bachelor's degree in commerce with a concentration in marketing from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada.

Paul Hylbert

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Finance Committee
  • Lead Independent Trustee
  • Member of Compensation, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
Mr. Hylbert currently serves as NSA's lead independent trustee and in that role he presides at the regularly scheduled executive sessions of the independent trustees. Mr. Hylbert has served as an officer and/or director of a number of companies over the past 40 years. Most recently, he served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Kodiak Building Partners, LLC, from 2011 to 2014. Prior to this role, from 2007 to 2010, Mr. Hylbert served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of ProBuild Holdings Inc., a national fabricator and distributor of building products and a subsidiary of Fidelity Capital. From 2000 until 2006, Mr. Hylbert served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Lanoga Corporation, one of the top U.S. retailers of lumber and building materials, until it was acquired by Fidelity Capital. Mr. Hylbert also served as the President and Co-Chief Executive Officer of PrimeSource Building Products, a national fabricator, packager and distributor of building products from 1991 to 1997, after which the company was sold and Mr. Hylbert served as President from 1997 to 2000. Earlier in his career, Mr. Hylbert served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Wickes Europe, Wickes Lumber, and Sequoia Supply subsidiaries of Wickes, Inc. before leading a leveraged buy-out of Sequoia Supply to form PrimeSource Building Products in 1987. Mr. Hylbert graduated from the University of Michigan with a Masters in Business Administration and graduated from Denison University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree.

Rebecca L. Steinfort

Job Titles:
  • Chairman of Compensation, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
  • Chief Executive Officer of Eating Recovery Center & Pathlight Behavioral Health
  • Trustee and Compensation, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee Chair
  • Trustee and Compensation, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee Chair / Chair
Rebecca L. Steinfort is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Eating Recovery Center & Pathlight Behavioral Health, a private-equity backed, national healthcare services provider focused on treating patients suffering from mood, anxiety, and eating disorders. Prior to this role, she served as the Chief Executive Officer of Hero Management LLC, a leading provider of healthcare practice management services for dental, orthodontic and vision care practices that serve the pediatric Medicaid population, from 2015 to 2016. Prior to joining Hero Management LLC in 2015, Ms. Steinfort held various positions at DaVita Healthcare Partners ("Davita") beginning in 2009, including Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of DaVita's primary-care subsidiary and Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer of DaVita's dialysis business unit. Previously, Ms. Steinfort held various leadership positions at QIP Holder, LLC (parent company of Quiznos, a multinational sandwich franchise, "Quiznos"), at Level 3 Communications, LLC and served as a consultant at Bain & Company. She has served as an independent director on the board of Milacron Holdings Corp. (NYSE: MCRN), a leading industrial technology company serving the plastics processing industry, where she also is a member of the audit committee. Additionally, Ms. Steinfort served on the board of directors of Nature's Sunshine Products, Inc. (NASD: NATR) as an independent director from February 2015 to May 2018, where she chaired the compliance committee and served as a member of the audit committee. Ms. Steinfort graduated from Harvard Business School with a Masters in Business Administration and graduated from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Arts.

Steven Osgood

Job Titles:
  • Chairman of the Finance Committee
  • Member of the Audit Committee
  • Trustee and Finance Committee Chair
  • Trustee and Finance Committee Chair / Chair
  • Trustee and Finance Committee Chair / Expert
Mr. Osgood currently serves on the board of directors of Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital Inc. as an independent director and member of the audit committee, a position he was elected to on January 8, 2015. He has also served as the Chief Executive Officer of Square Foot Companies, LLC, a Cleveland, Ohio based private real estate company focused on self storage and single tenant properties since 2008. Mr. Osgood is primarily responsible for the acquisition and financing of properties, as well as overall responsibility for the organization. Mr. Osgood also serves as the Chief Executive Officer of All Stor Storage, LLC, a Delaware based limited liability company focused on the acquisition and ownership of self storage properties. From 2007 to 2008, Mr. Osgood served as Chief Financial Officer of DuPont Fabros Technology, Inc., a Washington, DC based real estate investment trust that owns, operates and develops data center properties. Mr. Osgood was part of the management team that executed the company's initial public offering in 2007 which involved its transition from a private to public company. From 2006 to 2007 Mr. Osgood served as Chief Financial Officer of Global Signal, Inc., a Sarasota, Florida based real estate investment trust that owned, leased, or managed approximately 11,000 towers and other wireless sites prior to its acquisition by Crown Castle International Corp. in 2007. Prior to Global Signal, Mr. Osgood served as President and Chief Financial Officer of U-Store-It Trust (now CubeSmart), a Cleveland based self storage real estate investment trust, from the company's initial public offering in 2004 through 2006. Mr. Osgood served as Chief Financial Officer of the Amsdell Companies, the predecessor of U-Store-It, from 1993 until 2004. Mr. Osgood is a former Certified Public Accountant and was a member of the auditing staff of Touche Ross & Co. from 1978 to 1982. Mr. Osgood graduated from the University of San Diego with a Masters in Business Administration and graduated from Miami University with a Bachelor of Science Degree. Back

Tamara D. Fischer - CEO

Job Titles:
  • CEO
  • Executive
  • Chairman of the Board of Trustees
  • Member of the Executive Board of Governors for Nareit
Tamara D. Fischer serves as Executive Chair of the Board of Trustees. She served as Chief Executive Officer of the Company from 2020 to 2023 and served as Chief Financial Officer from inception in 2013 to 2020. Before joining NSA, Tamara served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Vintage Wine Trust, Inc., a real estate investment trust focused on assets in the U.S. wine industry, from 2004 to 2008. She continued to serve Vintage Wine Trust as a consultant through its dissolution in 2010 and served in various other consulting positions until becoming involved with NSA. From 1993 to 2003, Tamara served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Chateau Communities, Inc. (NYSE: CPJ), one of the largest real estate investment trusts in the manufactured home community sector. She remained at Chateau through its sale in 2003. Prior to joining Chateau, she served as a member of the audit staff at Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers). Tamara is a member of the Executive Board of Governors for Nareit and serves as Chairman of the national Self Storage Association.

Tiffany Kenyon - Chief Legal Officer, EVP

Job Titles:
  • Chief Legal Officer
  • Executive Vice President
Tiffany Kenyon was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer in January 2023. Before assuming her current role, Ms. Kenyon served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel since January 2022 and Senior Vice President and Senior Legal Officer from May 2018 to January 2022. Prior to joining the Company, Tiffany served for ten years with MarkWest Energy Partners, L.P., most recently as Vice President, Law, where she focused on commercial transactions, finance, and corporate and securities matters. Prior to joining MarkWest, she was with Greenberg Traurig, LLP from 2000 until 2008 where she focused on real estate, corporate and securities matters. Ms. Kenyon received her J.D. degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder and her bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Will Cowan - Chief Strategy Officer, EVP

Job Titles:
  • Chief Strategy Officer
  • Executive Vice President
  • Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of NSA
Will Cowan serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of NSA. He currently oversees all aspects of NSA's strategic initiatives, including acquisitions, dispositions, investor relations, risk management, insurance and internal audit functions for the Company. Previously, Will served as Managing Director in the Real Estate, Gaming, Lodging and Leisure Group of Jefferies LLC, leading the US coverage efforts for self storage, multifamily, industrial and net lease sectors. He joined Jefferies in 2012 after working in the Real Estate, Gaming and Lodging Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. During his 15 years in investment banking, he was closely involved in over $160 billion of advisory and capital markets transactions for public and private real estate companies. Prior to investment banking, Will served in the 25th Infantry Division of the United States Army and rose to the rank of Captain. Will holds a Master of Business Administration from the Darden School of Business at University of Virginia where received the Faculty Award for Academic Excellence. He also received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Davidson College and awarded an Army ROTC Scholarship.