Windsor girl researching happiness

Autumn Cullen wants to know what makes successful women
happy—and unhappy—and she’s hoping to get those answers from her
own community.
Cullen’s research project is part of the county’s Commission on
the Status of Women, a group appointed by the Board of Supervisors
to advocate for women in the community. The 15-year-old Windsor
resident is a member of the junior commission and meets once a
month with 11 other Sonoma County teenagers to discuss women’s
issues.
Each member is asked to conduct a research project. Next spring
junior commissioners will present what they’ve found and the
reports will be packaged together. Past projects have been used by
Sonoma State University’s department of women’s studies.
Karen Famini, the fifth district representative for the
Commission on the Status of Women and chair for the junior
commission, said the project gives a public voice to issues not
always discussed. Past projects included a look at domestic
violence and the way girls from different backgrounds understood
it. “[The junior commissioner] interviewed girls from an Advanced
Placement class and a home economics class and got very different
answers,” she said.
Cullen chanced upon her topic while reading an article about
women, success and happiness. “I’d like to hear from women who are
successful and happy, and who are successful and not happy,” she
said. “I’d like to know how they define success. I’d like to hear
multiple points of view.”
Cullen is looking for women willing to be interviewed. Contact
her at do**********@ya***.com or
838-3341.