Heather Cullen attended Brigham Young University and Dominican for her Graduate degree. Her first Chemistry job was while she was a student at BYU working for the DOE to develop multilayer x-ray windows and doing cancer research with Dr. James Thorne. Heather met her husband, Reg at work. She was the chemist and he was the civil engineer. They were restoring Mono Lake for an Environmental Engineering Company.
After having four children, Autumn (28), Spring (26), Benjamin (25), Ephraim (20), her husband, Reg supported her in going back to school to get a masters degree and a teaching credential. Heather’s master’s thesis was on brain development, specifically how learning to read and perform music affected the reading fluency of at-risk middle school students. I wonder if this may have started her desire to teach Middle school kids?
She is also the choir director at church and volunteers with the Relief Society and Windsor Rotary club.
Serving runs in the Cullen family. “All of my children have served one and a half to two year missions. Autumn served in Russia, Spring in Taiwan, Benjamin in Pocatello, ID, and Ephraim in Colombia. We live in the neighborhood between Brooks Elementary and Windsor Middle School. We got here in 2004 because Reg got a job as an Engineer for the County of Sonoma.
All four of my children play instruments. They all started teaching in 6th grade. This was a real gift to the community because as student teachers they only charged $8/lesson so that young families could afford to start their kids in music. It helped my kids too because they had to practice to keep good on their instruments in order to teach. We had three recitals a year. We taught piano, violin, viola, cello, trumpet, trombone, recorder, voice, etc. Autumn got very good at harp and Ephraim got very good at accordian as well. They all play several instruments. Autumn and Ben each had their own string quartets that would play for weddings and community functions.
Fiddler on the Roof Bugsy Malone Little Women was EPIC. Mary Poppins, Moana, The Snow Queen, The Phantom Tollbooth, Pirates of Penzance, A Thoroughly Modern Millie, Annie, The Sound of Music, Grease, Olive Oil, Christmas Child, The History of Windsor the Musical are what’s coming up now. I wrote it 10 years ago for Windsor’s 20th anniversary celebration. It took me a year. I interviewed a ton of “old” families, businesses, and authors who had written books about Windsor and the Windsor Museum people. It takes Windsor from 1850 to present through song and dance highlighting memories of the people I interviewed and major incidents in Windsor. It focuses on the families in the place we call Windsor and how they help and love each other, starting with Pomo Families, the Russians, Hispanics, and pioneers. Come see this show and learn about your town on Nov 17 & 18 at 7pm at Windsor Middle School in the theater.
The Talent Show is Windsor Performing Arts Academy’s only Fundraiser. Heather is the president of the board of this nonprofit. It’s a non-paid position and takes up a few volunteer hours every week (5-10) WPAA going into schools and puts on full professional plays using the students at the school at no cost to the school or kids except a $35 fee for t-shirts and memory videos. The shows can cost up to $4000 or $5000 to put on including the salaries for Choreographers, directors, and all the production and media costs. If a student wants to be in an after school play elsewhere it costs $250 to $800! That’s just the cost of doing business. When adults and youth share their talents in the talent show and invite their friends to come, it raises money so WPAA can afford to give free theater to the kids in our community.
My main instrument is PIANO and I am a very good singer. I sing with Vinyl Revival…you can hear our awesomeness at VinylRevival.org We’ve cut two albums. I love the people I work with.
I can also play guitar, recorder, clarinet, and have taken lessons in accordion, harp and trumpet. I don’t have time to practice much so the music is simple on those instruments but very enjoyable.
I love seeing a child realize that they have talents inside that the world needs. I love to see them overcome fear and anxiety and destructive behaviors and blossom into capable confident people. It’s a challenge to keep my class a safe place for risk taking but I think the students recognize the value and pretty soon they allow it to happen.
A month after my 4th child was born, the State of California went bankrupt and my husband was working for them. We got a notice that we’d be receiving an IOU instead of a paycheck and we got worried and started looking for other work. A few months later my husband’s whole office was let go. We decided to try to move by family in Oregon but after moving up there nothing worked out..we drove to New York to buy his family and no jobs worked out. It was crazy. Luckily we pulled together instead of apart. We would joke with the kids about “cleaning their rooms” and they would organize their backpacks.. that journey took a year and a half before we got the job for Sonoma County. We homeschooled, camped, stayed with family and friends for small amounts of time but 6 people living with you is hard for both sides…I’d rather be camping honestly. It was a real test of our faith but God always made sure we had food and a place to stay every night. Many miracles that solidified us happened.
Before the “journey” as we call it now we were renting and had an old beat up minivan and no job..A year and a half later during which time both of my husbands parents died so we were able to spend time with them before that happened, we were able to buy a house in Windsor, had a better care and a higher paying job at the county level. It took us about a year to feel like we were really done spinning around. I remember my little son asking, “how come we’re not moving from here” about a month after moving into our home, which we named “The Oasis’ ‘.
I love all the service clubs in Windsor. They are so amazing and I think if anyone has one or two spare hours they should join Lions, Kiwanis, Soroptimists, or Rotary. They raise money for school and community projects.
I LOVE the Relief Society. It’s the oldest women’s service group in the world. I’ve been a member since I was 18 years old. They really focus on the power of women in the home, in the community and in the world. Not just married women…all women. We learn skills of communication and self reliance and spirituality that we share with those around us. Once I had to have surgery on my appendix while I was three months pregnant. The Relief Society came in and arranged for people to come to my home and take care of my two toddlers, because I had to lay very still for two weeks so I didn’t lose baby Ben. These women played with my kids, cleaned my house, and had dinner on the table when my husband came home. We could not have survived without them.
Reg and Heather enjoy working in the yard. It’s very relaxing, she says. Cutting back vines, trees, sweeping debris constantly, tending flowers and food, keeping weeds out of the rocks and wood chips. In the back we have a pretty good garden. He LOVES to care for plants. He’s really good at it.
I mostly follow him around and sweep up the trimmings.. We’re a good team.
“JESUS inspires me. I know some people cringe at that, but I could not do what I do without His help. I want people to feel His love for them through me so they can have some relief and peace in this world. I’m just a window. I’m flawed and flabby, Heather laughs, “but with His help I can do anything.”
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