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:

ActivismHealth

When UPMC and Highmark Work Together: Saving the Life of a Newborn Baby

November 29, 2014 by

I was so saddened to learn that a neighbor of mine from the Northside was killed in a terrible car accident Wednesday evening. Her name was Jodie Guthrie and while I did not know her, I am a regular customer at the Rite-Aid where she was killed. She lived near my neighborhood. Jodie was pregnant, […]

Family

Leftover Pet Photos

November 28, 2014 by
Pet Portrait

Sometimes the best part of a pet group portrait is the various blooper shots. My crew never lets me down when it comes to looking the other direction or sticking out their tongues.        

FamilyThe Arts

My Elf On The Shelf And The Legend of Belsnickel

November 27, 2014 by

Elf on the Shelf is creepy. The face, the disproportionate limbs, the mythology dating back to the mid-1990s – it is all creepy, commercialized and secularized. Obviously, it is destined for greatness. The history of Christmas as a holiday and tradition is rife with cultural appropriation, secularization and lots of red-n-green washing. Trees became mainstream […]

Family

12 Lesbian Thanksgivings

November 26, 2014 by

This year, Ledcat and I will celebrate our 12th Thanksgiving as a couple. Our plans include dinner with our family of choice (aka The Sarahs and their 2 kids) who are vegetarian but prepare turkey breast for us. I’m pretty sure we’ll be schooled in a video game by the 8 year old and get […]

ActivismThe Arts

What Does It Mean to Amplify?

November 25, 2014 by
How To Be An Ally

The word amplify has been rolling around my brain for months now. I’ve been following two distinct, but interconnected threads on social media about the need for allies to amplify the voices of people of color and transgender people – in lieu of speaking for them. And let me be very clear here – these […]

ActivismThe Arts

The Risks of Moving Beyond the Blog

November 24, 2014 by

This past weekend, I was part of a panel discussion about the #ArtisticVisionPgh project. The audience was small, but asked terrific questions. I think it went well. Video will be available in a few months. This panel also marked my unofficial entry into the world of blogger artist in residence. To be honest, that’s a […]

CultureReviews, Interviews, Giveaways

Giveaway: Mary J. Blige Album The London Sessions

November 24, 2014 by

Enter to win The London Sessions from Mary J. Blige! THE LONDON SESSIONS the new album from global superstar MARY J. BLIGE Featuring the hit single “Therapy” and groundbreaking collaborations with UK talent including Sam Smith, Disclosure, Naughty Boy and more! Available December 2: http://smarturl.it/TheLondonSessions Follow Mary J. Blige on social media http://www.maryjblige.com http://facebook.com/maryjblige http://twitter.com/maryjblige […]

PoliticsThe Arts

Artistic Q&A: Vannevar Bush on The Art of Urban Observation

November 23, 2014 by

As part my NaBloPoMo examination of art and blogging, I asked a few folks to consider some of the same questions I’m pondering. Today, I’m sharing the responses from local blogger Vannevar Bush.   I first met Vannevar via Facebook when I posted about my fear of cycling in an urban environment. That conversation led […]

Activism

WESA 90.5 Explores LGBTQ Poverty

November 22, 2014 by
WESA

This past week, WESA aired two segments addressing an often overlooked issue in the LGBTQ community – poverty. Deanna Garcia put together a solid segment focusing squarely on poverty, using data from The Williams Institute as well as interviews with local leaders. She interviewed a local lesbian who is disabled and living on Social Security. […]

ActivismHealth

North Side Food Pantry Hopes to Gives One Can of Tuna to All Families in Dec, 1000 cans needed

November 22, 2014 by
Donate Tuna to Food Pantry

So I intentionally distorted the image to show what happens when you stretch a can of tuna to feed multiple people. Today, I received this message from North Side Common Ministries In December, our goal is to give each of the 1,000 families that will visit the Northside Food Pantry one can of tuna. One. […]