Patricia D. McDow is the Majority Leader of the Yonkers City Council. She represents part of the southwest section of Yonkers, which is referred to as the First Council District.  A  native New Yorker who was born in Brooklyn and raised in Manhattan & the North Bronx, Patricia attended New York City public schools.  She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from SUNY New Paltz in Early Education N-6 and her Master of Arts Degree from C.W. Post College in Speech Pathology and Audiology. Patricia McDow has been a part of the Southwest section of Yonkers since 1978.

Patricia D. McDow worked as a Speech Pathologist at Rockland Children’s Psychiatric Hospital and the Northport V.A. Hospital.  As a New York State Licensed teacher, she has taught in both the Mount Vernon and Greenburgh School Districts.

In 1985, Patricia decided to follow in the footsteps of her mother and become an entrepreneur.  She returned to school to develop a trade in skin and nail care.  As a licensed nail technician and licensed esthetician, Patricia developed her own line of cosmetics “Tricia Cosmetics.”  In addition, she is the Founder and President of TriciaBusinessImage.com: a web development and consulting firm located in Yonkers.

Patricia D. McDow firmly believes “that in order to be successful, you must empower yourself so that you can empower others.”  To that end, she is an active member of the Yonkers Chamber of Commerce, serving on the Women in Business Committee.  She also sits on many boards, such as LWRP Advisory Committee, Yonkers Downtown BID, and Yonkers Sewage Treatment Advisory Group.  She is a member of the Democratic Party serving as Ward Leader and District Leader.  As the State Committee Chair, she sits on the Westchester County Democratic Committee and the Yonkers Democratic Committee.

Patricia’s community service includes volunteering as a mentor in the Martha Sloan Greenawalt Young Women's Mentoring Program, and as a member of the Yonkers Chapter of the NAACP.  Ms. McDow is a board member of the Westside Youth Tennis Organization and Westchester County Women's Advisory Board.  As an active member of her sorority Delta Sigma Theta, Inc., Patricia participates and works on numerous community projects throughout Westchester County.

In the Yonkers City Council, Patricia D. McDow serves as Chair of the Community Services and Intergovernmental Relation Committees and is a member of the Education, Franchise, Legislation & Codes, Municipal Operations and Rules Committees. As Chair of the Community Service committee, Ms. McDow has implemented programs such as Strategic Business Alliance of Yonkers (SBAY), a Minority and Women-Owned Business Organization which was created to assist business owners who live or operate their business in the City of Yonkers; implemented a Love Thyself Stop The Violence Day in The City of Yonkers, to teach young adults that there alterative ways to express anger; developed a News Log for the Democratic Council; formulated a Community Services Committee Advisory Board; developed a Neighbors helping Neighbors Program; and created an Online Community Newsletter. Patricia is currently assisting in the development of the Council’s Website and E-mail project, Fire Safety/Prevention Road Show and A Grandparent Forum.

Patricia describes her highest priority as informing and empowering her constituents. Her goals are to insure that the people of Yonkers are considered first when job opportunities are made available and that they are also given the opportunity to obtain a quality education and to maintain affordable housing in her community.

Patricia D. McDow, is keeping her constituents informed through monthly e-mail newsletters, her personal web site (www.patriciamcdow.com), her Community Services Committee Advisory Board and town hall meetings.