September 13, 2023 - Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck continues to grow its State Government Relations team with the addition of Ray Colas as a policy director. Colas will help business organizations navigate state laws and regulations that impact their ability to conduct business. “Ray has two decades of government relations experience, strong relationships with national legislative leadership and a long history of representing the automotive and telehealth sectors. All of this makes him a great asset to our multistate approach for clients,” said Doug Friednash, chair of the firm’s State Government Relations practice. Having operated in the majority of states, Colas has a wide-reaching network of key relationships with elected officials across the country. Most recently, he was the director of government affairs at SmileDirectClub in Nashville, Tennessee. He represented the company at legislative meetings, hearings and functions, and he managed all state contract lobbyists and the organization’s state legislative efforts. Prior to that, Colas spent 18 years in the automotive sector, representing LKQ Corporation, the world’s largest distributor of motor vehicle alternative parts.