Sue

Sue is the founder of Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents blog, established in 2005.. She has an MSW from the University in Pittsburgh and a BA in Political Science from Marymount University. Her undergraduate claim to fame is a six month stint as an intern with then Congressman Rick Santorum in 1991. Born and raised in West Mifflin, Sue attended college in Washington DC, then graduate school in Louisiana and ended up in Kentucky doing social service ministry. She returned to Pittsburgh in 1997. She now lives on Pittsburgh’s Northside with her wife, Laura. She was among the first out LGBTQ people named to Pittsburgh’s 40 Under 40 in 2004 and is a graduate of Leadership Development Initiative Class VII. After being fully and permanently disabled in 2010, Sue has continued to serve the community. She founded the Pittsburgh Tote Bag Project to address hunger and environmental issues. In 2015, she launched the #AMPLIFY LGBTQ archive in conjunction with a two-year artist in residence stint with Most Wanted Fine Art. Sue and her wife have fostered over 25 kittens through Pittsburgh CAT and Homeless Cat Management Team, and now manage multiple community cat colonies in their neighborhood. In 2020, Sue cofounded the Pittsburgh MasQUe ProjecT to support the queer and trans community during the pandemic, distributing tens of thousands of face masks and other supplies throughout the region. In 2021, Sue created the #PghCatFolx projects to support neighbors working with community cats. Under that heading came the Dr. John P. Ruffing DVM Pet Food Projects, memorializing one of her very best friends who died in 2007. In 2021, Sue worked with community leaders to develop and establish a 501c3 nonprofit organization, Pittsburgh LGBTQ Charities (PLC) where she currently serves as Board President. PLC absorbed the #PghCatFolx projects. Also in 2021, Sue was the first person in history appointed to the City of Pittsburgh LGBTQIA+ Commission and was unanimously elected as one of three inaugural co-chairs. Her blogging has garnered numerous awards Favorite GLBT Media Publication - 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 (Keystone Alliance Gaylife Newsletter Reader’s Poll) Favorite GLBT Social Media - 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 (Keystone Alliance Gaylife Newsletter Reader’s Poll) Best Local Blogger - 2016, 2019 (Pittsburgh City Paper Reader’s Poll) LGBTQIA Pittsburgh’s Best Blogger - 2020 (SisTersPgh, People’s Pride of Pittsburgh) Outstanding Blog - 2019, 2022 (GLAAD Media Awards) Sue has also personally been honored Person of the Year - The Advocate Magazine, 2022 15 Lesbian Icons - LGBTQ Nation, 2023 LGBTQIA Pittsburgh’s Best Lesbian Activist - SisTersPgh, People’s Pride of Pittsburgh 2022 Sue believes in identifying and filling gaps in supports & services rather than recreating the wheel. She uses both her undergraduate and graduate degrees on a regular basis as a blogger and activist and regularly circulates her 1991 internship photo just to shake things up on her social media feeds. Her own experiences with cPTSD, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and other health challenges have fueled her health blogging and activism. She also writes extensively about her family history, drawing on her amateur genealogy hobby. The blog regularly reviews arts and cultural events as well as exploring restaurants, soap opera storylines, and hyper-local news. Sue and her wife Laura have been together since 2003. They were married on a very cold February 2, 2021 in their backyard at a very small ceremony co-officiated by their pagan priestess friend, Anne, and then-Mayor Bill Peduto. They have six niblings, four in Pittsburgh and two in Philadelphia.

Posts by Sue:

Q&AThe Arts

Q&A: Theater Artist Taylor Meszaros on Her Role As Stage Manager with City Theatre

January 23, 2019 by

 I tend to have two favorite aspects of stage management. The first is seeing a production through from start to finish. I love the process of making a play from first table read until closing day. Theatre evolves and is different each performance, and in that way it’s truly a living, breathing art. Every once in a while, a production comes along that just sticks with you. I’ve been fortunate enough to experience several of those shows at City Theatre.

The second favorite aspect is successfully calling difficult cues. I get a sense of small victory after I tackle a particularly challenging sequence, and I appreciate that it keeps my senses sharp.

ActivismAdvocacy

How To Be An Ally To Indigenous Peoples

January 23, 2019 by

  Two Row Campaign and Syracuse Cultural Workers. The full color poster features an Onondaga Gustoweh (headgear) by Onondaga artist Josephine M. Cook. You can order a copy either as a poster or a notecard by clicking on the image above if you like.

Q&AQueerThe Arts

Q&A: Rad Pereira Queers Prince Ferdinand in Pgh Public Production of The Tempest

January 23, 2019 by
Rad Pereira

How do you describe your identity? In a nutshell, I’d say I’m a brown queer genderfluid immigrant. My gender identity varies day by day. Style has been one of my most consistent modes of self-care because I can fully express myself through it, especially when I’m working in institutions where I’ve felt silenced.

ActivismMedia

Block Family, Post-Gazette Refuse (Again) to Publish Letter from Newsroom Employees

January 22, 2019 by
Block Family Foul

You’ve probably read this elsewhere, but I wanted to show my solidarity by publishing this letter here. I also want to point out that there are a lot of members of the Block family who derive financial benefit from the operations of Block Communication, Inc (and the Post-Gazette) which affords them a degree of financial […]

AMPLIFYGay

Bill, 62, is a Gay Man Being Visible in Mercer County #AMPLIFY

January 22, 2019 by
Gay Man Mercer County

   I remember in New Castle the highest paying factory job was impossible for gay men to get because they relied on reference only from people who already worked there and there was an understanding among them that they wouldn’t give a positive reference to a gay man. Name: Bill Age: 62 County of Residence: Mercer County, formerly […]

ActivismLGBTQYouth

How the good intentions of families of LGBTQ youth might harm other LGBTQ youth

January 21, 2019 by
Allies Harming LGBTQ Youth

I feel very sad for Dakota James’ family, especially his mother who seems immersed in unresolved grief. But their unwillingness to consider that a terrible accident befell their son while he was drunk is having a negative impact on the LGBTQ community and general population of Pittsburgh. The Foundation they established is taking LGBTQ resources […]

Health

Just an old fashioned cold

January 20, 2019 by

I’m living these days with a good old fashioned nasty cold. The sort that doesn’t let you rest without aches or wheezing or existential grief. My pragmatic self had stocked up on soup, tissue, and generic nyquil. My better half trundled off to the store for ginger ale. I even managed a shower without hacking […]

BisexualEntertainment and MediaOtherReview

Review: Blank My Life series offers intriguing emotional layers, a bisexual storyline, and lots of Pittsburgh touches

January 20, 2019 by

Blank My Life is quirky and puzzling. What begins as a series of vignettes in the first two seasons evolves into a full throttle series in Season Three. And it works. A ridiculous premis like accidentally killing your GBF and then moving to Ohio from NYC makes for compelling, if uneven, viewing. Lead character Susan […]

Pets

I miss my dog

January 19, 2019 by

Xander Dunhoff-Kerr died on January 19, 2016. He was 14. He was a great dog, devoted to me, mischievous on occasion, smart, sweet to his siblings, and mighty. I miss him fiercely. And his littermate brother, Amadeus, who died in 2015.

Pets

Friday After Situation

January 18, 2019 by