John Flateau is the dean of external relations at Medgar Evers College, a senior college of the City University of New York in Brooklyn, headed by President Edison O. Jackson. He previously served as executive director of the DuBois Bunche Center for Public Policy , adjunct professor in public administration, and has lectured at numerous universities. Prior positions include chief of staff to Mayor David N. Dinkins, senior vice president of the NYS Urban Development Corporation, and executive director of the NYS Black and Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus. He authored The Prison Industrial Complex: Race, Crime and Justice in New York (DuBois Bunche Center, 1996) and co-authored Blackout: Media Ownership Concentration and the Future of Black Radi (DuBois Bunche Center, 1997). He is an expert in urban policy, community development, voting rights and redistricting, and campaigns and elections. He is a media commentator and consultant to government, business, and nonprofit sectors. He is a leader in Brooklyn's empowerment zone effort and a citywide black awareness campaign for Census 2000.