Strategic Storage Trust, Inc. Adds Four District Managers to Its Expanding Operations

LADERA RANCH, CA--(Marketwire - Oct 3, 2011) - Strategic Storage Trust, Inc. (SSTI) -- a publicly registered non-traded REIT targeting the self-storage market -- proudly announces the addition of four district managers to handle its expanding operations. The managers will oversee the daily operations for assigned regions that include Las Vegas, The Gulf States, the Northeast and Midwest.

"Each of these managers was chosen to represent our rapidly growing operations to the highest of standards," said Robert Cerrone, SSTI's senior vice president of operations. "The district managers play a key role in carrying out our long-term commitment to our customers."

SSTI's district managers are responsible for the overall performance of the properties in their area. Specific duties include hiring and training of personnel, maintaining and managing operating budgets, implementing third party truck rental service and developing and implementing effective marketing plans for each property.

Heading up the Las Vegas Metro area is Maria Avellana, who comes to SSTI from the apartment property management industry where she was a regional manager. She also served as the transaction manager for more than five years, where she managed and facilitated multi-family acquisitions and dispositions. Avellana is on the board of directors for the Nevada State Apartment Association and is chairperson for their membership and magazine committee. In 2008, she was recognized in InBusiness Las Vegas' "Who's Who in Real Estate" feature.

The Gulf States region will be overseen by Dianne Leppanen, a seasoned self-storage professional with more than 16 years of self-storage multi-unit management experience and six years of commercial real estate experience. Most recently, she was working as a consultant for local self-storage owners in Florida. Prior to that, she managed 14 self-storage properties for Budget Self Storage. Leppanen is based in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

Operations in the Northeast region will be run by Joaquin Echevarria, who has worked as a regional manager at Hertz and Enterprise for more than 10 years and two years as a district manager for Public Storage. He will oversee a number of properties within the New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia areas of the SSTI portfolio. He is based in Fort Lee, NJ.

The Midwest region will be managed by Robert Healy, who also has experience as a district manager with Hertz and Enterprise. In addition, he was a district manager for H&R Block in their retail tax service division. His district area includes Chicago, Ill., Memphis, Tenn. and Jackson, Miss. Healy is based in Chicago.

Since the launch of SSTI in 2008, SSTI's portfolio of wholly-owned properties has expanded to include 78 properties in 17 states and Canada. SSTI is actively purchasing properties generating current cash flow as well as value-added lease-up opportunities.

About Strategic Storage Trust, Inc. (SSTI)

Strategic Storage Trust, Inc. (SSTI) is the first and only self-storage REIT in the public non-traded REIT marketplace. SSTI is one of five publicly registered self-storage REITs in the United States and is one of the fastest growing self-storage REITs nationwide. The Strategic Storage Trust management team is comprised of industry veterans with extensive institutional experience in the acquisition and property management of self-storage properties. The REIT's storage facilities are being branded as SmartStop^™ Self Storage throughout the country. Its portfolio includes approximately 52,000 self-storage units and 6.4 million rentable square feet of storage space.

For more information about SSTI, please call 949-429-6600 or visit www.strategicstoragetrust.com

To view our properties and locations or to find a nearby storage facility, visit www.smartstopselfstorage.com

This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements can generally be identified by our use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "continue," or other similar words. Because such statements include risks, uncertainties and contingencies, actual results may differ materially from the expectations, intentions, beliefs, plans or predictions of the future expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and contingencies include, but are not limited to: uncertainties relating to changes in general economic and real estate conditions; uncertainties relating to the implementation of our real estate investment strategy; uncertainties relating to financing availability and capital proceeds; uncertainties relating to the closing of property acquisitions; uncertainties relating to the public offering of our common stock; uncertainties related to the timing and availability of distributions; and other risk factors as outlined in the Company's prospectus, as amended from time to time. This is neither an offer nor a solicitation to purchase securities.