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:

CultureNaBloPoMoRecreation/Social

Luke Spencer. No Apologies.

November 4, 2013 by

The Prompt: Who is your favourite character of all time? So this is tricky because “all time” means of all the time and I’m not good with commitment. I also have a penchant for disillusionment – am I alone in finding Little Women disappointing as an adult? I mean – the domestic goddess Meg scenes […]

Reviews, Interviews, Giveaways

Movie Review: The Hot Flashes

November 4, 2013 by

I’ve been waiting to see “The Hot Flashes” since summer when I read a recap/preview on the Bitch Media blog.  Brooke Shields, Darryl Hannah, Wanda Sykes, Camryn Manheim and Virginia Madsen …. playing basketball. And with the Bitch seal of approval, I knew it wasn’t going to be too schlocky. The setup is fairly conventional stuff – Beth’s […]

ActivismNaBloPoMo

Raise Your Hands. Raise Your Hands High.

November 3, 2013 by

We often take our hands for granted, much in the same way those in authority take the diligence and support of the hands of the working folks for granted – like them, we assume our own hands will toil until they. simply. Don’t. Through the dustbowl Through the debt Grandma was a suffragette Blacklisted for […]

NaBloPoMo

Saturday Memory: Margaret Hamilton on Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood

November 2, 2013 by

As most children of the 70’s in Pittsburgh are apt, I do love Mr. Rogers. My Mum describes how I would rush pell mell home from the busstop to watch him after kindergarten each day. I don’t really remember that (I was 4 and 5) but I do have a few vivid memories of the […]

Culture

Everyone Claims To Be Middle Class

November 1, 2013 by
NaBloPoMoOther

What Would a Million Dollars Worth of Tampons Look Like?

October 31, 2013 by

The Prompt: If you found one million dollars in the morning and had to spend it by nightfall, what would you do with the money? This is not a big challenge. 1. I’d pay off my outstanding debts – I guess I’d have to use online banking. Hmmm.I wonder if there’s a contingency for paying […]

NaBloPoMo

Do You Eat the Toast?

October 30, 2013 by

The prompt: In your experience in life, does bread always fall on the buttered side? Here’s a “scientific” explanation of why toast falls butter side down. So this is really about perspective – do crappy things always happen or happen most of the time? But I ask – is the floor clean? And is there […]

ActivismNaBloPoMo

Go Beyond

October 29, 2013 by
Catching fire Arena Map

The Prompt: Confucius said, “To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.” Do you agree? Setting aside my previous discourse on quotes without context, I’m going to give this a good faith try. I’m reminded of doing the long jump in high school track – you need to hit your mark. Or playing […]

ActivismQ&ARecreation/SocialReviews, Interviews, Giveaways

The Artist Bitch Brings BEACH to Pgh for One Night Only

October 29, 2013 by

Friday evening, Pittsburgh native Karen Mould known professionally as Bitch will perform one show only at Club Cafe, fronting her new concept BEACH. You can buy tickets for the 7 PM performance of her show (doors at 6) online. When Opus One Productions first hinted that Bitch was bringing a new concept to Pittsburgh, I […]

OtherPolitics

Who Do Our Allies Really Welcome to the Table?

October 26, 2013 by

Tonight, I have no tact, I’m paranoid and I don’t understand how collaboration works. So the gatekeeper decides that I do not get access to my elected official unless I explain myself to him first. This is why I hate that so many elected officials have gmail accounts that are screened by staff anyway. What’s […]