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.

Reecey Walker, 32 Year Old Trans Woman of Color, Stabbed to Death in Wichita

Reecey Walker

Another tragic day for our community with the news that 32 year old trans woman of color, Reecey Walker was found stabbed to death in their Wichita apartment on Sunday evening, May 1. A 16 year old young man has been arrested, but not yet charged. From The Advocate: Officers were called to investigate a […]

Creating the #CatCar: Pgh’s Latest Art Car Hits the Road #AMPLIFY

Pittsburgh Art Car

Converting my 2000 Honda CRV into an art car seemed like a solid idea. It only has 130,000 miles and is in pretty good shape mechanically speaking. It was technically our second car that I used for my day-to-day errands and the occasional big or ‘messy’ transport. Since I work from home, my day-to-day errands […]

Bill, 52, is a Gay Man Living in a Small Town in Cambria County #AMPLIFY

Gay Cambria County

  Name: Bill Age:  52 County of Residence: Cambria, formerly Indiana Preferred Pronouns: he, him How do you describe your identity? A white gay man who is not butch or fem. Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? I never formally came out to most family members. Over time it became […]

Patricia, 41, Does Not Feel Safe As a Trans Woman in Her Urban Pgh Suburb #AMPLIFY

Allegheny County Trans Woman

Name: Patricia Age: 41 County of Residence: Allegheny, formerly Washington Preferred Pronouns: She/Her How do you describe your identity? At some point, the mental switch flipped in my head firmly into a “female” identity. (I think it was always set to “female” but I was trying to force it to say “male”!) So I identify as a trans woman. I […]

Mariah, 38, Wants More Support for Westmoreland LGBTQ Neighbors #AMPLIFY

westmoreland lesbian

Name: Mariah Age: 38 County of Residence:  Westmoreland, formerly Allegheny Preferred Pronouns: Not sure How do you describe your identity? Well I’m A White Female and I Don’t Really label myself I love who I love Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? When I Came Out Fully I had support […]

Updates on the Investigations of Nine Murdered Trans Neighbors

Transgender Murder

  We learn about the violent death of a trans neighbor, we mourn. But too often we don’t know what happens in the criminal proceedings. Is there justice? What does that look like? I don’t have answers to the larger questions, but I did go back and plow through the criminal dockets to determine where […]

Maybe I Underestimated Rich Fitzgerald on LGBTQ Issues

Rich Fitzgerald gay

I’ve been disappointed with Rich Fitzgerald. He’s not especially progressive and his antics with Chelsa Wagner are exasperating. Worst of all, he made the decision to strip County employees of their domestic partner benefits after the Supreme Court decision recognizing marriage equality – a truly terrible and regressive policy decision. It one of the single […]

Norman, 67, is a Gay Black Male of African Descent #AMPLIFY

Gay Black Pittsburgh

Name:  Norman Age:  67 County of Residence: Allegheny Preferred Pronouns: he/his/him How do you describe your identity? gay (same gender loving) Black male of African Descent Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? My coming out experience happened in the late 60’s with my sisters when I was in my […]

TWOC Keyonna Monroe Blakeney, 22, Murdered in Maryland Hotel

Her name was Keyonna. She was 22.   Another brutal loss as we learn that 22 year old Keyonna Monroe Blakeney, a Washington DC resident, was found dead with sever upper body trauma in a Rockville Maryland hotel room. Keyonna was murdered on Saturday April 16. From the Washington Blade The victim, who identified herself […]

Wes, 44: Queer Trans Man, Parent Wants You To Know That He Exists #AMPLIFY

Trans Pittsburgh

Name:  Wes Age: 44 County of Residence: Allegheny, formerly Westmoreland Preferred Pronouns: he/him/his How do you describe your identity? queer transman Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face?  When it occurred to me that transmen exist I spared no time figuring out what I had to do. Since I was […]