NASHVILLE (AP) — Metro Nashville has confirmed the first Hispanic woman ever to head a city department.

Attorney Ana Escobar was confirmed to the post of clerk on Tuesday by the Metro Council. In that role, she will be responsible for keeping city records and making them available to the public.

The 40-year-old Escobar moved to the U.S. from Colombia as a baby and has spent most of her life in Nashville.

Escobar told The Tennessean that she hopes her position in Metro government will serve as a positive example for Nashville's Hispanic population.

"It is very significant, especially after we went through the whole English only situation in Nashville," she said, speaking of a failed ballot initiative that attempted to make English the mandatory language for all Metro government business.

Escobar said that although there has recently been some hostility toward Hispanics in Nashville, that wasn't the case when she was growing up.

"There was no difference, there was no prejudice," she said. "People thought it was interesting I spoke Spanish, but it wasn't strange or threatening. . I never experienced discrimination. Ever."

Before being appointed clerk by Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, Escobar served on the board of equalization, the election commission and the planning commission.

Escobar spent the bulk of her career as a defense attorney and a prosecutor in Nashville's criminal courts, including a stint in the public defender's office.

Escobar said city clerk is the kind of job she envisioned for herself as a student of political science at Vanderbilt University.

"I'm very proud of the fact that we have a transparent government," she said. "I'm very excited to be part of that process and to serve the city."

Escobar will replace outgoing Clerk Marilyn Swing, who held the job for 27 years.

Yuri Cunza, president and CEO of the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, praised Escobar's appointment, saying it "can inspire a segment of our population that is still trying to find a place in the system."