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:

ActivismPolitics

Does it Matter if a Mayor or District Magistrate Will Perform Same Sex Marriages?

May 1, 2017 by

There’s been some furor lately in the electoral race for an East End magisterial judge seat. Incumbent Judge Dan Butler is under scrutiny for not performing marriages – he doesn’t perform any marriages. The tricky part is that he belongs to a socially conservative Jewish congregation that defines marriage as between a man and a […]

Activism

Pgh Organizes ‘Bey-B’ Shower for Black and Brown Pregnant Folks

April 29, 2017 by

The Black Femme Excellence Co is organizing a community-wide baby shower centering black and brown pregnant folks in this region who are expecting or recently gave birth. This is part of the nationwide movement to organize ‘Bey-B’ showers to celebrate the wonders of black parents, including LGBTQ parents.  It is also a tangible way to […]

AMPLIFYLesbian

Lora, 33, Talks About Coming Out, Family Support, & LGBTQ Narratives #AMPLIFY

April 27, 2017 by

Are there issues impacting your LGBTQ neighbors that aren’t visible or part of the local dialogue?

I think everyone is affected by our education system. We need to be taught compassion and understanding for marginalized communities. So often the narratives of people of color and people in the LGBTQ community are either not told or not given the equal space of white narratives. It is easy to see people that are seemingly different from you as “others” when you are not exposed to their stories, their kindness, their humanity while growing up and come to the realization that their narrative is our collective human narrative.

AMPLIFYLesbian

#AMPLIFY Lesbian Visibility Day with 59 Lesbian Voices from Western PA

April 26, 2017 by
Lesbian Day of Visibility

Today is the day we celebrate the lesbians in our lives – Lesbian Visibility Day. According to Wikipedia. I’ve been diligently trying to track down other sources for this so-called visibility day that started in 2008, but I’ve had little in the way of luck. Google seems to indicate it has not been ‘a thing’ […]

In MemoriamTrans

Trans Woman Chay Reed Shot & Killed in Miami

April 22, 2017 by
Chay Reed

28-year-old Chay Reed was shot to death Friday in the West Little River neighborhood of Miami-Dade. She is the 9th trans woman of color to be murdered in the US during 2017. Neighbors provided home surveillance footage to the police, telling the media that they saw several people on the sidewalk before 5 AM. One […]

Other

Fish Fry Friday: 2017 Wrap-Up, Best Winners Announced

April 22, 2017 by

The end of another year of #FishFryFriday reviews of local fish fries in the Pittsburgh area. We missed one week, but we did include a Shrove Tuesday event so that events out. Here are this years reviews Shrove Tuesday February 28 – Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner Calvary United Methodist Church (Northside) Friday, March 3 – Fish […]

Health

The Season of Depression Has Sprung

April 20, 2017 by

I’ve been depressed. For months. Long months, wearing down my mind and my soul and my heart. Months where I continued to take my prescribed medication and see my therapist and do all of the things. Sometimes I show up to do public things, sometimes I do not. If you wonder where, I’ve been – […]

AMPLIFYQueer

Selene, 60, is genderfluid, pansexual, femme-presenting, neuroqueer and more #AMPLIFY

April 18, 2017 by

How do you describe your identity? genderfluid, pansexual, femme-presenting, dom
white as f*ing bleached flour
autistic, neurodivergent, neuroqueer
multiply disabled, invisibly disabled, visibly disabled, auditory processing disorder, executive function disorder, ehlers danlos syndrome, partially ambulatory

Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? Have been more or less out as weird-queer all my life. Had some excellent friends, also some friends of my mother’s were supportive. Several teachers.

Got beat up, excluded, gamed. Autism (undiagnosed) was not helpful in knowing whom to trust.

Activism

The Dr. John P Ruffing Memorial Animal Care Fund

April 17, 2017 by

Today is the birthday of one of my favorite people of all time – Dr. John P Ruffing. He would be 51 today and probably unwilling to talk about that fact. Tragically, John died unexpectedly at age 41 in November 2007. He left a bereft group of family, friends and clients through his veterinary work. […]

OtherReviews, Interviews, Giveaways

Fish Fry Friday: Elks Lodge 339 (Northside)

April 17, 2017 by

Name: Elks Lodge 339 Date: April 14, 2017 Time We Ate: 5:30 PM Random review of #fishburgh adventures during Lent. Find a fish fry on this Google maps collection. You can also follow them on Facebook and find tons of reviews and suggestions. Here is our general criteria: In review, the factors we assess or review include: Location/directions/parking/signage Atmosphere/Volunteer […]