In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, News 12 is profiling a Dominican-American woman who was one of the youngest to be elected to Yonkers City Council and now has risen to become its majority leader.

Corazon Pineda-Isaac was 24 when she felt a city councilman ignored her concerns. So, she ran against him. That's how she became one of the youngest to land on Yonkers City Council.

"For me, it was so empowering. I hope it was a message to young women, young Latina women, young Dominican women, and young women in general to say you can do whatever you put your mind to," she says.

She says she owes everything to her parents, who immigrated from the Dominican Republic decades ago in search of a better life and who worked hard day in and day out to provide for her and her siblings.

"Those family values, those hardworking ethics, that has stuck with me throughout my school career, my professional career," she says.

The now 31-year-old, American-born, Dominican-raised, married mother of three is the council's majority leader. She also works full time in economic development for Westchester County.

She is using her cultural values in public office to fix issues with housing and police reform.

Pineda-Isaac introduced the idea of body cameras back in 2015 and again this year, which was successful because now there will be a pilot program in the Yonkers Police Department.

Pineda-Isaac says she is planning to run for a third and final term with the City Council and then wants to continue in local government in some way to help her community.