Paul Abbate, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office, announced today that Marvis Cofield was named the recipient of the prestigious 2014 FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award (DCLA).

The DCLA is presented annually by the FBI Director, James B. Comey, to a recipient from each of the 56 domestic FBI Field Offices. Established in 1990, the DCLA is designed to publicly recognize an individual or organization that has helped with crime prevention and educational programs within their community.

Marvis Cofield, a native of Detroit, is the founder and CEO of Alkebu-lan Village, a community service organization dedicated to the youth of metropolitan Detroit. In addition to founding Alkebu-lan Village, Mr. Cofield also served the community as a substitute teacher for Kettering High School from 1980 to 1990.

Mr. Cofield originally opened Alkebu-lan in 1978 as a martial arts training facility, which was then called Alkebu-lan Martial Arts Federation. As a seventh-degree Black Belt, Mr. Cofield used the martial arts as a tool for overall youth development.

Over time, Alkebu-lan Martial Arts Federation expanded to include other fitness programs along with youth leadership training, homework assistance and tutoring, visual and performing arts programs, entrepreneurship training, and community service. In November 2000, the organization launched its new identity as Alkebu-lan Village to reflect its growth and program expansion. Each year, Alkebu-lan Village provides educational, cultural, and recreational programs to more than 1,000 Detroit area youth and their families.

Marvis Cofield is a revered community leader in metropolitan Detroit, and he has been an advocate and community partner with the FBI Detroit Field Office Community Outreach Program for more than 10 years.

It is with great pleasure that the FBI Detroit Field Office name Marvis Cofield as the recipient of its 2014 FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award. Mr. Cofield was recognized locally for this accomplishment by Special Agent in Charge Paul Abbate during a small reception attended by his friends and family at the FBI Detroit downtown office. Mr. Cofield, along with the recipients sponsored by the 55 other domestic FBI field offices, will be formally presented with the 2014 DCLA by FBI Director James B. Comey at a ceremony held at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. in the spring of 2015.