Meet CLARA
The Colorado Lodging and Resort Alliance (CLARA), is a statewide coalition of professional property managers, vacation industry operators, employees, and supportive organizations dedicated to advancing fair and effective policies that enhance industry standards and best practices to stimulate the economic impact of Colorado’s tourism industry.
We work to strengthen and unify the voice of the industry in discussions with local, state and federal policymakers to develop fair and effective regulations that benefit Colorado’s communities and vacation rental market.
“Outreach to policymakers is a critical component in passing policies that benefit communities and the vacation rental industry across Colorado”
Board Members
Toby Babich
Toby is the immediate past President of VRMA, and during his 7 years of Board service he was instrumental in building the VRMA government affairs department to national prominence. He has also been a leader in forming the Breckenridge Lodging Association and more recently the SAVRM, both organizations being dedicated to vacation rental industry advocacy at the municipal and county level.
Toby is the Mayor of the Town of Blue River in Summit County, and has served his community extensively throughout his volunteer career in dozens of roles. He is a passionate advocate for his community and the vacation rental industry, fundamentally believing that as professionals we owe our communities professionalism and accountability, and in return our communities owe us fair treatment and support of our industry publicly.
Dana Lubner
Dana Lubner is Head of Leadership Development at Rent Responsibly. Rent Responsibly is a community building and education platform for local short-term rental alliances. They provide the tools and services to empower local short-term rental leaders to build sustainable organizations at the local level.
Previously, Dana led Effortless Rental Group, a Colorado-based property management company, alongside her brother. When Denver created an ordinance that threatened the future of STRs in her community, Dana jumped into action with her local advocacy group, Mile High Hosts, of which she is now the President. She also serves on Denver’s short-term rental advisory committee (STRAC) with members of City Council.
Dana serves on VRMA's Government Affairs Committee which monitors government-related matters, develops policy recommendations, and supports initiatives to advocate for the common interests of vacation rental stakeholders.
CJ Willey
CJ Willey is Corporate Counsel at Evolve, a hospitality company based in Denver, Colorado, providing top-tier management services to homeowners nationwide. Evolve takes a "tech forward" approach and is on a mission to make vacation rental easy for owners and guests.
CJ was instrumental in Evolve's 2021 launch of its "Building Hospitality" Program, which is a pledge to donate 1% of stays booked through Evolve to local nonprofit partners, focusing on improving the safety and health of homes through essential home repairs and modifications for underserved communities.
Through its involvement in CLARA, Evolve is committed to being a collaborative problem-solver in debates around regulation of vacation rentals. We seek to balance all diverse viewpoints, and ensure we make a positive impact in our owners' beloved communities.
Julia Koster, Executive Director
Julia Koster serves as the full time Executive Director for CLARA, keeping the organization running and ensuring efficiencies across statewide advocacy efforts. Julia has served as the Executive Director for the Summit Alliance of Vacation Rental Managers since 2021 and joined CLARA as executive director in 2024 to aid in alliance development, public affairs, government relations and grassroots advocacy. Prior to working in advocacy, Julia worked in the vacation rental industry in roles including Director of Business Development and Director of Sales for property management companies in Breckenridge, Colorado. She has a keen understanding of the vacation rental industry, business acumen to keep our organization running smoothly, and has rapidly developed positive working relationships with lawmakers and their staff. As the olive branch promoting positive engagement in policy development, Julia is a strong and knowledgeable advocate for vacation rentals who can quickly advance relationships with key decision makers in our government.
