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:

Other

Hey *I* Was Going to Write a Post-Election Post-Mortem … :-)

November 19, 2012 by

I love that Trish jumped right into my favorite topic – Daryl Metcalfe’s reign of holy terror in Pennsylvania. I had been planning a one week reflection on the election, but was derailed by tendinitisand well … OMG, its been a week? Like my sister blogger, I think there is a lot of interesting “space” […]

Other

Pittsburgh, There are more important thing to worry about than Schenley High School

November 19, 2012 by

Remember when Schenley High School was closed? In 2008. Four years ago. Remember when nearly 300 employees of the Pittsburgh Public School District (PPS) were laid off? Four months ago. Sigh. Schenley had/has a robust alumni group that vigorously protested the closure of an important institution to the East End identity. That’s fine. They are […]

Culture

GLCC To Host Collaboration of Art & Drag

November 19, 2012 by

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: ART AND DRAG UNITE FOR A ROYAL SHOW Pittsburgh, PA Dec. 2, 2012- Drag Queens and Kings as Portrayed by Local Pittsburgh Artists.The GLCC proudly presents a collaborative effort between the visual art community and the drag performance community. “Drag” can be understood gender bending or gender illusion entertainment that has the power […]

Activism

Minnesota Teen Denied Confirmation; Family Denied Communion Over Marriage Equality

November 18, 2012 by

Lennon Cihak is 17 and lives in Minnesota. A life long Catholic, he has been preparing for his Confirmation – a sacramental rite of passage in the Church. Lennon does not identify as gay, but he did post a photo on Facebook indicating that he supports marriage equality – or at least opposed the since-then-defeated […]

Other

Gratitude

November 16, 2012 by

Quite a few of my blogging friends are participating in National Blog Posting Month – NaBloPoMowhile others are focusing on gratitude on a regular basis in honor of Thanksgiving. It has made for some reflective moments this week to simply read about gratitude. I tend to stop and consider how this issue or that experience […]

ActivismCulture

How Do We Measure Christmas? The AFA Reduces the Reason for the Season to a Sign

November 15, 2012 by

I find it amusing when the American Family Association gets into a pantry twist about saying “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” … and so its a predictable giggle when they release their “Naughty and Nice” list of retailers each year. Criteria – AFA reviewed up to four areas to determine if a company was […]

Other

Welcome to Our New Blogger, Trish Mifflin

November 13, 2012 by

We want to offer a heartfelt welcome to the newest member of the blogging team, Trish Mifflin. Trish is not a lesbian. In her own words, she is transgendered male-bodied crossdresser who identifies as female, but is not pursuing full-time transition, either socially or medically. So that’s out of the way. Well, it is actually part of the […]

Politics

Four (Apparent) Wins on Marriage Equality

November 7, 2012 by

Let me preface by sharing that Washington votes by mail so that referendum decision won’t be finalized for a few days. But last night was breathtaking in that fact that marriage equality had three solid wins. In Maryland, voters approved a referendum on the marriage equality law passed by the State Legislature 52-48%. Maine approved […]

Politics

LGBT Voting Info from Equality PA

November 5, 2012 by

For more info: Today we sit one day out from the most important election ever for LGBT civil rights.  What happens tomorrow on Election Day will impact your life directly, so please take the time to know the candidates, understand the issues and most of all to VOTE. Some things to know – Polls in Pennsylvania are […]

Other

Get a Grip – Life With Mobility Constraints

November 4, 2012 by

Ah, hands. We take them for granted until we get a papercut on a index finger or some other seemingly minor ailment that causes a lot of problems. Mine is tendonitis complicated by some fancy sounding term to describe a “birth defect” (my third!) in which my carpal somethings are fused together. I think three […]