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:

Health

My Signature Beverage(s)

August 22, 2014 by
water coffee

Captain Picard was into Earl Grey tea; mention the Dude and we think: White Russians. What’s your signature beverage — and how did it achieve that status? I have two and both are pretty boring. First, there’s dark roast coffee with cream. This is what I order 90% of the time in a coffeehouse, restaurant or anywhere. I’ll take “normal” coffee and decaf […]

ActivismCultureHealthQ&A

#ArtisticVisionPgh QnA with Brian Cottington

August 21, 2014 by
Brian Cottington

This Q&A series focuses on artists contributing to the #ArtisticVisionPgh project cosponsored by Most Wanted Fine Art and Penn Avenue Eyewear. Today, we talk with Brian Cottington. I wanted to take a moment to point out that Brian describes a concrete example of how people “stretch” their vision health services to the point that it […]

Activism

17 Year Old Trans Male Student Dies By Suicide in Eastern PA

August 21, 2014 by
Riley

    Photo of Riley via Facebook 17 year old Riley Matthew Moscatel died by suicide this week. Riley was a student at Bucks County Technical High School who also happened to be a transgender male.  I held off writing about this because most of the media coverage by local PA and national outlets has done […]

NaBloPoMoOther

We Are All In This Together

August 20, 2014 by

The internet has recently been swept up by the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Is there a cause — social, political, cultural, or other — you passionately believe in? Tell us how you got involved — or why you don’t get involved. This ALS ice-bucket fundraiser seems to be a really touchy topic. I believe it is perfectly fine […]

ActivismCultureQ&A

#ArtisticVisionPgh QnA with Richard Jackley

August 20, 2014 by
Richie Jackley

This Q&A series focuses on artists contributing to the #ArtisticVisionPgh project cosponsored by Most Wanted Fine Art and Penn Avenue Eyewear. Today’s profile focuses on Richard Jackley Name: Richard Jackley Did you grow up with any siblings, friends or schoolmates who wore glasses? Was it a big deal with other kids? My sister and father wear glasses. […]

ActivismOther

ArtisticVisionPgh QnA With Dale Capellanio

August 19, 2014 by

This Q&A series focuses on artists contributing to the #ArtisticVisionPgh project cosponsored by Most Wanted Fine Art and Penn Avenue Eyewear. Next up is Dale Capellanio.  Name: Dale Capellanio Did you grow up with any siblings, friends or schoolmates who wore glasses? Was it a big deal with other kids? My grand parents wore glasses and my […]

ActivismRecreation/Social

Ten Ways the GLCC is building Community in Downtown Pittsburgh

August 19, 2014 by

Pittsburgh’s LGBTQ Community Center is called the GLCC (Gay and Lesbian Community Center) and is located at 210 Grant Street, just a block away from the City-County Building. The GLCC is open 7 days a week with a range of programming open to everyone in the community – LGBTQ persons and straight allies. The GLCC […]

ActivismCultureQ&A

#ArtisticVisionPgh Q&A with Heather Froman

August 18, 2014 by
Heather Froman

This Q&A series focuses on artists contributing to the #ArtisticVisionPgh project cosponsored by Most Wanted Fine Art and Penn Avenue Eyewear. Our next contributor is Heather Froman.    Name: Heather Froman Website: www.heatherfroman.com Twitter: @HeatherFroman How old were you when you first had to wear glasses? I was 7 years old when I got my first pair of […]

ActivismCultureQ&A

#ArtisticVisionPgh Q&A With Zena Ruiz

August 17, 2014 by
Zena Ruiz

This Q&A series focuses on artists contributing to the #ArtisticVisionPgh project cosponsored byMost Wanted Fine Art and Penn Avenue Eyewear. Our next contributor is Zena Ruiz.   Name: Zena Ruiz Website: zenaruiz.com How old were you when you first had to wear glasses? I was 20 when I first had to start wearing glasses. I noticed my vision […]

ActivismEducation

Can I Bring My Gay Friend to the GLCC Youth Programs?

August 16, 2014 by

Earlier this week, I represented Pittsburgh’s LGBTQ Community Center (the GLCC) at an event for teen girls in a program called GirlGov . My assigned task was to describe advocacy opportunities with the GLCC. But as so often is the case, my actual reason for being there was something entirely different. The set-up was like speed […]