Spotlight on Houston native Pastor Floyd Flake of New York
http://www.aframnews.com/html/interspire/articles/1420/1/Spotlight-on-Houston-native-Pastor-Floyd-Flake-of-New-York/Page1.html
Staff Writer
By Staff Writer
Published on 03/1/2010
Rev. Floyd Flake
Born in Los Angeles, Calif., Rev. Floyd Flake grew up in Acres Homes, in Houston as one of 15 children of Robert Flake, Sr. and Rosie Lee Johnson-Flake. He entered the ministry at age 16 at Greater Ward Chapel A.M.E. Church.
Rev. Floyd Flake
Born in Los Angeles, Calif., Rev. Floyd Flake grew up in Acres Homes, in Houston as one of 15 children of Robert Flake, Sr. and Rosie Lee Johnson-Flake. He entered the ministry at age 16 at Greater Ward Chapel A.M.E. Church.
After high school, he obtained his BA degree from Wilberforce University in Wilberforce, Ohio, becoming the first member of his family to graduate from college. He served as a social worker and then worked for Xerox as a marketing analyst.
Flake next worked as Director of Student Affairs at Lincoln University, PA, and subsequently dean of students and director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Afro-American Center at Boston University.
In 1976, he was asked to head the Allen African Methodist Episcopal Church (now The Greater Allen Cathedral of New York). Under Flake's leadership, the church grew from having about 1,400 members to over 25,000 parishioners. He also earned a D.Min. degree from the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, OH. Additional studies were conducted at Payne Theological Seminary and Northeastern University School of Business.
His numerous honorary degrees include awards from Boston University, Fisk University, Lincoln University (PA), and Cheney State (PA).
Flake is married to Margaret Elaine McCollins and has four children. He is also a fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. He served for six years as president of Wilberforce University. He is a political patron of New York Senate Democratic Leader Malcolm Smith and Democratic U.S. Representative Gregory Meeks. Despite his affiliation with the Democratic party, in 2006 he was the co-chair of conservative Republican Ken Blackwell's campaign for governor of Ohio.
According to the published marketing message, “The church and its subsidiary corporations operate with an annual budget of over $34 million." The church also owns expansive commercial and residential developments; a 750-student private school founded by the Flakes, and various commercial and social service enterprises, which has placed it among the nation’s most productive religious and urban development institutions. The corporations, church administrative offices, school, and ministries comprise one of the Borough of Queens’ largest private sector employers.
He has sat on the following boards: The President’s Commission on Excellence in Special Education; The Fannie Mae Foundation; The Princeton Review; The New York City Investment Fund Civic Capital Corporation; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Advisory Committee on Banking Policy and the Bank of America National Advisory Board.
In 1986, he was elected to the 100th United States Congress from the 6th New York Congressional District, which included Jamaica, Queens and most of its surrounding neighborhoods, stretching from Ozone Park and Woodhaven to the border with Nassau County. Flake served eleven years in the U.S. Congress, and was a member of the Banking and Finance, and The Small Business Committees. He established a reputation for bipartisan, innovative legislative initiatives to revitalize urban commercial and residential communities. Most notably, the Community Development Financial Institutions Act of 1993 contained provisions named the Bank Enterprise Act (BEA), authored by Representative Floyd Flake, which provided incentives for financial institutions to make market-oriented investments in destabilized urban and rural economies. In 1997, he resigned in order to return to work at his church full-time.
The Greater Allen Cathedral’s operations are a national paradigm of church-centered, faith based, public/private community educational and economic development. He and the church have been profiled on CNN, CBS, BET, C-Span, PBS, and in Time, Black Enterprise, Ebony, the New York Times, Readers Digest, Los Angeles Times, and many other publications.
He is an international lecturer and speaker and teaches at the Harvard Divinity School’s Annual Summer Leadership Institute. Under Flake’s leadership, Allen Church has provided resources and guidance for innumerable faith-based and secular institutions. Its net assets are valued at over $100 million.
Flake has published several books, including The Way of the Bootstrapper: Nine Action Steps for Achieving Your Dreams.
Rev. Floyd Flake
Born in Los Angeles, Calif., Rev. Floyd Flake grew up in Acres Homes, in Houston as one of 15 children of Robert Flake, Sr. and Rosie Lee Johnson-Flake. He entered the ministry at age 16 at Greater Ward Chapel A.M.E. Church.
Spotlight on Houston native Pastor Floyd Flake of New York
Rev. Floyd Flake
Born in Los Angeles, Calif., Rev. Floyd Flake grew up in Acres Homes, in Houston as one of 15 children of Robert Flake, Sr. and Rosie Lee Johnson-Flake. He entered the ministry at age 16 at Greater Ward Chapel A.M.E. Church.
After high school, he obtained his BA degree from Wilberforce University in Wilberforce, Ohio, becoming the first member of his family to graduate from college. He served as a social worker and then worked for Xerox as a marketing analyst.
Flake next worked as Director of Student Affairs at Lincoln University, PA, and subsequently dean of students and director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Afro-American Center at Boston University.
In 1976, he was asked to head the Allen African Methodist Episcopal Church (now The Greater Allen Cathedral of New York). Under Flake's leadership, the church grew from having about 1,400 members to over 25,000 parishioners. He also earned a D.Min. degree from the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, OH. Additional studies were conducted at Payne Theological Seminary and Northeastern University School of Business.
His numerous honorary degrees include awards from Boston University, Fisk University, Lincoln University (PA), and Cheney State (PA).
Flake is married to Margaret Elaine McCollins and has four children. He is also a fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. He served for six years as president of Wilberforce University. He is a political patron of New York Senate Democratic Leader Malcolm Smith and Democratic U.S. Representative Gregory Meeks. Despite his affiliation with the Democratic party, in 2006 he was the co-chair of conservative Republican Ken Blackwell's campaign for governor of Ohio.
According to the published marketing message, “The church and its subsidiary corporations operate with an annual budget of over $34 million." The church also owns expansive commercial and residential developments; a 750-student private school founded by the Flakes, and various commercial and social service enterprises, which has placed it among the nation’s most productive religious and urban development institutions. The corporations, church administrative offices, school, and ministries comprise one of the Borough of Queens’ largest private sector employers.
He has sat on the following boards: The President’s Commission on Excellence in Special Education; The Fannie Mae Foundation; The Princeton Review; The New York City Investment Fund Civic Capital Corporation; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Advisory Committee on Banking Policy and the Bank of America National Advisory Board.
In 1986, he was elected to the 100th United States Congress from the 6th New York Congressional District, which included Jamaica, Queens and most of its surrounding neighborhoods, stretching from Ozone Park and Woodhaven to the border with Nassau County. Flake served eleven years in the U.S. Congress, and was a member of the Banking and Finance, and The Small Business Committees. He established a reputation for bipartisan, innovative legislative initiatives to revitalize urban commercial and residential communities. Most notably, the Community Development Financial Institutions Act of 1993 contained provisions named the Bank Enterprise Act (BEA), authored by Representative Floyd Flake, which provided incentives for financial institutions to make market-oriented investments in destabilized urban and rural economies. In 1997, he resigned in order to return to work at his church full-time.
The Greater Allen Cathedral’s operations are a national paradigm of church-centered, faith based, public/private community educational and economic development. He and the church have been profiled on CNN, CBS, BET, C-Span, PBS, and in Time, Black Enterprise, Ebony, the New York Times, Readers Digest, Los Angeles Times, and many other publications.
He is an international lecturer and speaker and teaches at the Harvard Divinity School’s Annual Summer Leadership Institute. Under Flake’s leadership, Allen Church has provided resources and guidance for innumerable faith-based and secular institutions. Its net assets are valued at over $100 million.
Flake has published several books, including The Way of the Bootstrapper: Nine Action Steps for Achieving Your Dreams.