DENVER – The Federal Bureau of Investigation Denver Field Office recently announced Jeremy Shaver, senior associate regional director of the Anti-Defamation League - Mountain States Region, will receive this year’s FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award.
According to the FBI, Shaver, who also leads Hate Free Colorado, a coalition of law enforcement agencies and community groups, was nominated for being a critical community liaison partner for FBI Denver.
“His support and relationship are indispensable for our ability to be able to protect the American people,” Mark Michalek, FBI Denver Field Office special agent in charge said. “Recently, ADL and Jeremy provided information on threatening voicemails they received in ADL offices across the nation with the caller intending to kill Jewish people across the United States. As a result of that information, we were able to identify the subject who resided in Indiana, and he has been federally arrested and indicted.”
Michalek said Shaver and the ADL also provided critical support to the Colorado Springs community following the Club Q shooting and the Pueblo community following a foiled plot to bomb Temple Emanuel synagogue.
Shaver said he is honored to receive this recognition.
“I think it's an affirmation not only of the work that ADL, the Anti-Defamation League is doing to confront extremism in all its forms, but also the work that Hate Free Colorado is doing,“ Shaver said. “I think one of the things that I feel very proud about is the survey we were able to do in 2022 which was a statewide hate crime survey that really tried to dig deep into the lived experiences of Coloradans. What we realized is that many, many, many more Coloradans have been targeted with harassment with property damage, or vandalism or even physical injury or assault than what's collected by the data. And we also discovered that only 18% of respondents said that they shared this information with law enforcement.”
Shaver said he is working to close that gap by helping identify bias-motivated incidents, a requirement to be considered a hate crime and by serving as a liaison between officers and underserved communities.
“With partners like Jeremy were able to get out into the community and sometimes it resonates better when it doesn't come from law enforcement,” Michalek said.
Shaver said the work is intentional.
“It's not easy work, because many of the communities who are part of the coalition are communities who don't have a high level of trust and confidence in law enforcement,” Shaver said.
On April 19, 2024, there will be a national ceremony at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. FBI Director Christopher Wray will personally present the award to Mr. Shaver and other honorees selected by FBI field offices across the country. The FBI formally created the DCLA in 1990 to honor individuals or organizations for their outstanding service to the local community and enduring contributions to the advancement of justice.
