MERIT HILL CAPITAL

Liz Raun Schlesinger

Founder & CEO

Ms. Elizabeth Raun Schlesinger is the founder and CEO of Merit Hill.  She has served on the Merit Hill Board of Directors since its inception in 2016.  Ms. Schlesinger has been investing in the self-storage sector exclusively since 2006. She was formerly the Head of Self-Storage Investments at WPC, where she worked for over eleven years and, together with her team, built from inception the eighth largest self-storage operator in the U.S. Ms. Schlesinger co-founded WPC’s self-storage investment platform as the firm’s first independent investment vertical outside of triple net lease and helped to raise the initial capital for the self-storage platform.

Over the course of her career, Ms. Schlesinger has evaluated over 6,000 self-storage acquisitions consisting of more than 9,000 properties and totaling over $31 billion in asset value. Ms. Schlesinger has sourced, executed and been responsible for the investment decision of 286 self-storage investments acquiring 505 separate self-storage properties; completed 19 full-cycle portfolio and single-asset exits of 144 properties, realizing significant returns on the investments she made; and 226 separate financings comprising more than 750 properties, altogether totaling more than $8.9 billion in self-storage transaction volume.  She also helped to invest in 25 self-storage facilities in 18 transactions before she was the lead investment person responsible for sourcing, selecting and determining the appropriate value to pay for each investment.

Prior to WPC, she spent four years as an Analyst and then an Associate in the Private Equity Group at Brown Brothers Harriman where she was responsible for sourcing, executing and monitoring investments for the 1818 Funds.  Ms. Schlesinger serves on the Board of Trustees of Poly Prep Country Day School and previously served on the Penn Fund Board.  Ms. Schlesinger graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania and received her M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Anne Hawkins

Chief Operations Officer

Ms. Anne Hawkins serves as the Chief Operating Officer of Merit Hill Capital.  Ms. Hawkins brings nearly two decades of operational leadership and investing experience to Merit Hill. Most recently, she served as Chief Operating Officer of Self Storage at Morningstar Properties, a top private operator with over 85 owned and operated facilities.  At Morningstar, Ms. Hawkins led a team of over 200 employees across more than 10 states and drove a number of strategic initiatives to deliver exceptional financial performance.  Prior to that, she served as Executive Vice President at STR, Inc., helping to build out STR’s competitive benchmarking and analytics in new sectors, including self-storage.  Ms. Hawkins also was an investor with Great Hill Partners, a growth equity fund, and Thoma Bravo, a private equity fund focused on software and technology.

Ms. Hawkins graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Georgia, where she was a Foundation Fellowship Scholar, and received her M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Michael Linn, CFA®

Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Michael Linn serves as the Chief Financial Officer at Merit Hill and has been a key member of the firm for more than three years.  Mr. Linn has over twenty-five years of experience in financial products and financial controls and has worked at top tier financial services firms including Deutsche Bank, Cantor Fitzgerald and Fortress Investment Group.

Michael is responsible for the creation and oversight of financial reporting and analysis throughout Merit Hill’s corporate and fund operations.  Mr. Linn is also on the Firm’s Executive Committee.

With a strong background in both finance and technology, Michael has led the finance and operations teams of several growth stage companies in highly regulated industries including an insurance company, a broker dealer and a mortgage servicer.

Prior to joining Merit Hill in 2019, Michael worked at Fortress Investment Group, where he supported New Residential Mortgage LLC, a publicly traded REIT, as both Director of Finance and Operations and Director of Finance Transformation.  While at Cantor Fitzgerald, Mr. Linn served as the Controller for a commercial real estate origination and securitization business, where he helped build the financial and operational control framework.

Michael earned a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Binghamton University and earned his CFA charter in 2006.

Jennifer Builes

Director, Operations & Human Resources

Ms. Jennifer Builes serves as the Director of Operations at Merit Hill where she oversees the business operations of the company, manages the deal acquisition process and is in charge of the firm’s talent acquisition, helping Merit Hill grow to its current team of 30. Ms. Builes is also on the Firm’s Executive Committee and has worked alongside and directly for Ms. Schlesinger and alongside the original five Merit Hill employees for more than eight years since Ms. Schlesinger hired her at WPC directly into the Self-Storage Investment Group from another WPC department in 2015.

Prior to joining Merit Hill, Jennifer served as the Deal Operations Manager for the Self-Storage Investment Group at WPC from 2015 to 2017 where she assisted with 22 acquisitions, eight loan assumptions and four dispositions. Additionally, while at WPC, Jennifer worked as an Analyst in their Treasury department from 2014 to 2015. Prior to WPC, Jennifer worked in the finance group at Veeco Instruments, Inc. for several years, focusing primarily on Domestic and International Treasury.

Jennifer attended Eastern Michigan University where she majored in Communications and minored in History.

Cole Jackson

Director, Head of Investments

Mr. Cole Jackson serves as the Head of Investments at Merit Hill and has worked alongside and directly for Ms. Schlesinger for more than 12 years since she hired him at WPC directly into the Self-Storage Investment Group in 2011.  He assists in the evaluation, underwriting, closing and financing of investments as well as the management of the Investment Department and the Merit Hill portfolio.

Prior to joining Merit Hill in 2017, Cole was part of the Self-Storage Investment Group at WPC for nearly six years.  During his career, he has worked on 140 self-storage investments comprising 287 properties, five portfolio and single-asset exits comprising 28 properties and 101 financings totaling more than $4.2 billion in self-storage transaction volume.

Cole graduated cum laude with honors from Arizona State University and Barrett, The Honors College in 2011, with a B.S. in Finance and a minor in Economics from the WPC School of Business.

Tim Hughes

Managing Director, Head of Distribution

Tim Hughes is Managing Director and Head of Distribution at Merit Hill Capital. He has more than 30 years of experience as a senior executive within the financial services and alternative asset management industry. Most recently, he spearheaded the manufacturing of two retail offerings, re-branded a distribution company, and guided a public company through internalization and positioned them for a disposition. Tim has previously served as Senior Managing Director/Co-Head of Distribution for Bluerock Capital Markets, a real estate investment management company. Prior to his time with Bluerock, he spent nearly a decade as Executive Director for Carey Financial, a wholly owned subsidiary of W.P. Carey, a leading REIT traded on the NYSE. He has also held senior roles within other industry-leading companies, including Hines, Cole, Wells Fargo, and MetLife. Tim graduated from the University of California, Berkeley.

John Colella

Vice President, Investments

Mr. John Colella serves as a Vice President of Investments at Merit Hill where his responsibilities include underwriting, evaluating, closing and financing investments.  Mr. Colella also is responsible for assisting in the sourcing and structuring of financing for the firm, and he has extensive direct relationships with multiple lenders that Merit Hill utilizes across the portfolio of assets.

Prior to joining Merit Hill in 2019, John worked in the CMBS group at J.P. Morgan Chase where he helped underwrite commercial real estate loans for both balance sheet and CMBS securitizations.  During his time at the firm, he underwrote more than $1.6 billion in real estate loans across all property types, including $283 million in self-storage loans. He worked directly on Merit Hill’s first balance sheet loan while at J.P. Morgan Chase for nearly two years, gaining significant insight and exposure to Merit Hill’s investment process and portfolio including visiting multiple Merit Hill properties prior to joining the firm.  Since joining Merit Hill, John has worked on 39 self-storage investments comprising 43 properties and 57 financings totaling more than $2.9 billion in self-storage transaction volume.

John graduated from The College of the Holy Cross in 2013 with a B.A. in History and received his MPS in Real Estate Finance from Georgetown University in 2017.

Christina M Smith, CFA®

Vice President, Investments

Ms. Christina Maloomian Smith, CFA serves as a Vice President of Investments at Merit Hill and has worked alongside and directly for Ms. Schlesinger for more than eight years since she hired her at WPC directly into the Self-Storage Investment Group in 2015.  She assists in the evaluation, underwriting, closing and financing of investments; the strategic sales of assets; and the management of the portfolio. Christina has helped with the thorough review of each of Merit Hill’s assets to determine if our business plan is complete and if it makes sense to sell, helping with a total of 12 sales transactions totaling 89 properties while at Merit Hill.

Prior to joining Merit Hill in 2017, Christina worked in the Self-Storage Investment Group at WPC. During her career, she has worked on 42 self-storage investments comprising 59 properties, 13 portfolio and single-asset exits comprising 92 properties and 36 financings totaling more than $1.6 billion in self-storage transaction volume.  Prior to joining WPC, Ms. Maloomian Smith was an Experienced Associate in the Financial Instruments, Structured Products and Real Estate Group at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Christina graduated Magna Cum Laude from Bucknell University with a B.S.B.A. in Management with a Finance concentration, and she passed all three levels of the CFA exams consecutively.

Andrew Fiepke

Assistant Vice President, Investments

Mr. Andrew Fiepke serves as an Assistant Vice President of Investments at Merit Hill and has worked alongside and directly for Ms. Schlesinger for more than nine years since she hired him at WPC directly into the Self-Storage Investment Group in 2014.  He assists in the evaluation, underwriting, closing and financing of investments; the management of the portfolio; financial analysis of the firm’s operations; and raising capital for investments.

Prior to joining Merit Hill in 2017, Andrew worked in the Self-Storage Investment Group at WPC, for nearly three years. During his career, he has worked on 81 self-storage investments comprising 215 properties, three portfolio and single-asset exits comprising 42 properties and 53 financings totaling more than $3.2 billion in self-storage transaction volume.

Andrew graduated Phi Beta Kappa and cum laude from Southern Methodist University with a B.B.A. in Finance from the Cox School of Business, a B.A. in Markets & Culture and a minor in French.  While at SMU, Mr. Fiepke was a member of the University Honors, B.B.A. Honors and Alternative Asset Management programs.

Bradley Korzelius

Associate, Investments

Mr. Bradley Korzelius serves as an Investment Associate at Merit Hill where he assists in the evaluation, underwriting and closing of new self-storage investments.

Before joining Merit Hill in 2019, Bradley was a Summer Analyst at Starwood Property Trust in their Capital Markets Group where he assisted in the acquisition of CMBS B-Pieces and performed research on the performance and impact of malls on the CMBS portfolio.  Prior to that, he worked as a Summer Analyst for Cerberus Capital Management in their Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities Group where he assisted in the trade and acquisition of CMBS. Since joining Merit Hill, he has worked on 59 self-storage investments comprising 158 properties, two portfolio exits comprising 56 properties and 39 financings totaling more than $3.0 billion in self-storage transaction volume.

Bradley graduated cum laude from Cornell University, Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management with a B.S. in Applied Economics and Management and a minor in Real Estate.

Zac Curtis

Analyst, Investments

Zac serves as Analyst, Investments at Merit Hill Capital where he assists in the evaluation and underwriting of new self-storage investments.

Before joining Merit Hill Capital in 2021, Zac worked at Retail Resource Group where he assisted in restructuring retail and restaurant Real Estate portfolios. Prior to that, he studied Debt and Capital markets at the London School of Economics. Zac graduated from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, Kenan-Flagler School of Business with a B.S. in Business Administration with concentrations in Real Estate and Finance as well as a minor in History.

Arthur Decker

Analyst, Investments

Mr. Arthur Decker serves as an Analyst, Investments for Merit Hill Capital where he assists in the evaluation and underwriting of new self-storage investments.

Before joining Merit Hill Capital in 2022, Arthur was a Summer Analyst at MCR Investors where he assisted in the acquisition and development of limited-service hotels for their portfolio.

Arthur graduated from Cornell University’s Nolan School of Hotel Administration with a B.S. in Hotel Administration and a minor in Real Estate.

Nick Savignano

Analyst, Investments

Nick serves as Analyst, Investments for Merit Hill Capital where he helps to underwrite and examine new self-storage investments.

Prior to joining Merit Hill Capital in July of 2021, Nick was a summer analyst at RBC Capital Markets in Dallas, TX where he worked with the Real Estate Capital Partners office helping to evaluate various debt investments in a variety of different classes of real estate. Prior to that, Nick worked as a summer associate at Revelstoke Capital Partners in Denver, CO where he assisted in reviewing and researching investments in various Healthcare IT entities. Nick graduated Cum Laude from Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business with a BBA in Finance, a concentration in Real Estate Finance, and a specialization in Alternative Asset Management.

Steven Teixeira

Vice President, Asset Management

Mr. Steven Teixeira serves as Vice President of Asset Management at Merit Hill and has worked alongside and directly for Ms. Schlesinger for more than eight years since she hired him at WPC directly into the Self-Storage Investment Group in 2015. He has oversight of Merit Hill’s analytics team and, in partnership with the third-party property management companies, he helps oversee day-to-day activities and operations at the 286 properties currently under ownership.  Additionally, he participates in identifying and underwriting potential value-add capital expenditure projects as well as providing support throughout the completion of capital projects and expansions across the portfolio and has helped with the thorough review of each of Merit Hill’s assets to determine if our business plan is complete and if it makes sense to sell, helping with a total of 12 sales transactions totaling 89 properties while at Merit Hill.

Prior to joining Merit Hill’s asset management team, Steven also worked in Merit Hill’s investment team, and prior to joining Merit Hill he worked in the Self-Storage Investment Group at WPC. During his three years working on investments, he was involved in 13 self-storage investments comprising 20 properties, 15 portfolio and single-asset exits comprising 120 properties and 15 financings totaling more than $1.5 billion in self-storage transaction volume.

Steven graduated cum laude from the Villanova School of Business with a B.B.A. degree in Finance and Economics.  He also is fluent in Portuguese.

Corey Schiffres

Senior Associate, Asset Management

Mr. Corey Schiffres serves as an Asset Management Associate at Merit Hill.  His responsibilities include assisting in the management of the firm’s 286 properties by conducting property- and portfolio-level performance and ad hoc analyses and assisting to underwrite potential value-add capital expenditure projects.

Prior to joining Merit Hill in 2020, Corey held a variety of positions at SITE Centers.  He most recently worked in the Financial Planning & Analysis group, where he contributed to portfolio underwriting, corporate strategy and ad hoc analyses.  Prior to that role, Corey worked in the National Accounts Department cultivating relationships with current and potential tenants.

Corey graduated from Colgate University with a B.A. in Political Science.

Matthew Lucarelli

Associate, Asset Management

Prior to joining Merit Hill Capital, Matt held a variety of positions at Kimco Realty Corporation. He most recently worked as an Asset Management Analyst, where he evaluated development opportunities and contributed to portfolio underwriting, dispositions, and ad hoc analysis. Prior to that role, Matt did a rotational program as a Management Associate, where he worked in five different departments including Asset Management, Leasing, Development, Construction and Property Management. He graduated from Siena College with a B.A. in Finance.

Alexander Konopka

Senior Analyst, Asset Management

Alexander Konopka serves as a Senior Analyst, Asset Management at Merit Hill Capital where he assists in the management of the firm’s portfolio and works on asset management level underwriting and analysis.

Prior to joining the firm, Alexander was a part of the Real Estate Team at Iron Mountain where he worked on the underwriting, analysis, financial planning, and over-all strategy of their real estate portfolio. Previously, he worked at Management Solutions as a data management consultant for large multi-national banks working on projects related to Risk Data Aggregation, Data Management, and Capital Planning.

Alexander received a B.S. degree from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College where he graduated with a double major in Finance and Management & Leadership.

Marc DiBenedetto

Project Manager

Mr. Marc DiBenedetto serves as a Project Manager at Merit Hill Capital.  He is responsible for capital budgeting, project deployment, property condition assessments and participates in identifying and completing value-add opportunities.

Marc began his Project Management career in commercial construction in 2001. Some of these projects included retail fit-outs, educational renovations and new construction, office building interior and exterior renovations. One of the largest projects being a private mental health group home full conversion from commercial use to residential living units.

In addition, he has owned and operated small general contracting business which focused on residential remodeling, renovations and additions, and smaller commercial fit-outs.

Prior to joining Merit Hill Capital, Marc worked as a Facility Services Manager at Extra Space Storage for 10 years.

Marc graduated from Widener University with a B.S. in Business Management.

Curt Jones

Project Manager

Mr. Curt Jones serves as a Project Manager at Merit Hill Capital where he oversees Facilities Management, and Special Construction Projects for the western U.S. region.

Prior to joining Merit Hill Capital, Mr. Jones worked at Public Storage, Extra Space Storage, and Asset Preservation Group for a total of 35 years in the Self-Storage industry.

Curt graduated from Washington State University with a bachelor’s degree and currently resides in Seattle, Washington.

John Sanchez

Project Manager

Mr. John Sanchez serves as a Project Manager at Merit Hill Capital. Mr. Sanchez has over 25 years of facilities operations experience. He has lead numerous facility remodels and construction projects across the eastern U.S. region, while physically inspecting property conditions on a per property-per district basis to ensure safety, security, and facility standards are maintained. John assesses potential properties to gauge the maximum potential of ROI. He uses Enterprise resource planning and other software services that accredits him to meet quarterly benchmark quotas.

Prior to joining Merit Hill Capital, John worked for Extra Space Storage Inc. for seven years as a Facilities Service Manager. He participated in the development of the annual facilities budget and five-year forecasting process. John elected and supervised vendors and contractors for projects and provided instruction on safety, security, and facility maintenance to operations staff. Working hand in hand with the Divisional Vice President and site staff, under direction of the Sr. Director of Facility Services, he supervised the successful execution of capital projects across 150+ stores ranging from $1,500 – $1 MM.

Mr. Sanchez has also worked for Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. as a Director of Engineering from 2012 to 2014, collaborating with his project team and key local Staff to oversee an $18.5 million dollar renovation.

John is an alumnus of the New York Technical Institute. He has his ProFM Credential, 32 Hour OSHA Training, as well as an EPA Certification Type 11.

Brendan Oster

Vice President, Finance

Mr. Brendan Oster serves as Vice President, Finance for Merit Hill Capital. Prior to joining Merit Hill, Brendan served as a Manager of Financial Planning & Analysis at Moody’s Corporation covering expense and margin planning for the Banking, Structured Finance and Commercial Real Estate technology operating units within Moody’s Analytics.

Prior to that, he covered sales and revenue forecasting for the Insurance and Pensions technology group at Moody’s Analytics.

Brendan Graduated from Lehigh University with a B.S. in Finance.

Denisse Mogollon

Vice President, Finance

Denisse serves at Vice President, Finance at Merit Hill Capital. Prior to joining Merit Hill Capital in 2020, Denisse worked with the Enterprise Capital Management team at Bank of America. Denisse has extensive experience in senior management and regulatory reporting for GSIB institutions with a focus on reporting enhancements, risk mitigation, and automation.

She began her career with JPMorgan Chase initially with the Private Bank under Asset management, followed by Financial Controls at the Corporate & Investment Bank.

Denisse attended Villanova University graduating with a B.A. in Economics and minors in Spanish and Business. She is fluent in Spanish and has working-knowledge Portuguese.

Jorge Sanchez

Associate, Finance

Jorge is a Financial Analyst at Merit Hill Capital where he assists with the preparation of reports and helps evaluate current financial data. Prior to joining Merit Hill Capital in February 2021, Jorge was an Accounting Intern at Berdon LLP. During his time at the firm, he assisted the team with estimated projections and tax preparation. Jorge graduated from Baruch College with a B.B.A in Finance.

Chris Hildebrand, CPA

Vice President, Controller

Chris Hildebrand serves as Vice President, Controller for Merit Hill Capital and is a licensed CPA in the state of Texas.  Mr. Hildebrand graduated from Texas A&M University in 2004 with both a B.B.A. and M.S. in Accounting from Mays Business School.  Mr. Hildebrand began his career in Audit at Ernst & Young, LLP in Dallas, Texas from 2004-2008.  From 2008-2017, Mr. Hildebrand served as the Accounting Manager for Capstead Mortgage Corporation, a Dallas-based publicly-traded mortgage REIT.  Mr. Hildebrand joined Merit Hill Capital in December 2017 and resides in Dallas with his wife and two children.

Ashley Bosworth, CPA

Assistant Vice President, Accounting Manager

Ashley Bosworth is the Assistant Vice President, Accounting Manager for Merit Hill Capital. She is a licensed Certified Public Accountant and graduated with both a B.B.A and M.S.A. in Accounting from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University in 2014. She has previously served as the Lead Fund Accountant for Lantern Asset Management, LP, a middle-market private equity firm specializing in distressed asset investments. She began her career at KPMG, LLP in Austin, Texas, where she served as a Senior Audit Associate.

Matthew Butler

Senior Accountant

Matthew serves as Senior Accountant at Merit Hill Capital where he assists with the preparation of the accounting and tax work for the Firm’s investment portfolio.  Prior to joining Merit Hill Capital in October 2018, Matthew was a Project Accountant for Stillwater Capital Investments, a real estate development firm in Dallas, TX.  He graduated from Concordia University with a B.B.A in Accounting and currently resides in Dallas, Texas.

John Gabriel

Accountant

Mr. John Gabriel serves as an Accountant at Merit Hill Capital where he assists with the Firm’s accounting process and cycles. Prior to joining Merit Hill Capital in September 2022, John worked as an Accounting Analyst for the Pennybacker Company in Austin, Texas, and was an intern for Merit Hill Capital from December 2017 to October 2018.

John graduated from the University of Texas at Dallas with B.S. in Finance.

Alex Lorei

Accountant

Born and raised in Kansas City, KS, he later moved to Dallas in 2013 where he finished high school and attended the University of North Texas for two years. After that, he transferred to the University of Oklahoma graduating with a B.S. in Accounting. He has lived in Dallas, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Denver, and Austin. He started his career in Denver as an internal auditor before moving back to Dallas and joining Merit Hill Capital. Alex is a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs and Oklahoma Sooners. He is the proud owner of two pugs who he adores.

Jane Jones

Investor Relations Coordinator

Ms. Jane Jones is the Investor Relations Coordinator at Merit Hill Capital. She brings over 20 years of financial industry experience to Merit Hill’s Investor Relations team, with emphasis in building and maintaining relationships, as well as top level administration. Her diverse industry skill set provides a comprehensive and attentive experience for advisors and investors alike.

Before joining Merit Hill Capital, Ms. Jones previously served as the Business Development Coordinator for Dynamic Advisor Solutions and as Senior Sales Administrator for Bluerock Capital Markets. Prior to her time at Bluerock, she spent nearly 15 years as an Internal Wholesaler and Territory Administrator for Carey Financial, a fully owned subsidiary of W. P. Carey, and leading publicly traded REIT on the NYSE.

Jane earned an Associate of Arts degree in Business Administration and resides in Colorado Springs.