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.

Q&A with Kate Lovelace, Candidate for Magisterial District Judge 05-2-31

When I see data about percentages of people with mental health conditions in the jail, I always shake my head because if you didn’t have a mental health condition on the way in, you will on the way out. Allegheny County Jail is not a safe place for our community and if Magistrates aren’t watching […]

Cat and Critter Pics From Fort Faulsey

Sweet cat photos sleeping, eating, and looking askance at me. Donations are quite welcome to feed and accommodate the community and foster cats. We really need a new heated water dish, three feeding stations, two deck/patio boxes, and dry cat food. Our #PghCatFolx need litter, dry & wet food, and clean towels.

Pittsburgh Animal Care & Control Urban Terror Campaign

Pittsburgh Feral Cat Trapping TNR

Pittsburgh has already begun to experience the effects of climate change with harsher winters, hotter summers, record setting precipitation, and increased numbers of invasive species. City of Pittsburgh Climate Action Plan 3.0 If you were worried that the Pittsburgh Animal Care & Control division is subject to an overabundance of oversight or accountability, I am […]

Update on Campaign Q&A’s for 2023 Primary Election – Now With More Updates!

Political Q&A

Update: as candidates/campaigns contact me, I’ll try to keep this table below current. I’m not going to revamp the math/data portion because it is intended to be a snapshot of where we were on the date of publication. Please go ahead and ask your candidates to join us! On the heels of the Stonewall Steel […]

Black Trans Woman Cashay Henderson, 31, Killed by Gunshot in Milwaukee

Cashay Henderson Trans Woman

Cashay Ashanti Henderson was a 31-year-old Black trans woman. Born in Chicago, Illinois, she most recently lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin before returning to her hometown. Milwaukee was where she died from a gunshot wound. On Sunday, February 26, her body was found in a burning building in Milwaukee. Someone shot Cashay and either set a […]

Steel City Stonewall Democrats Select 2023 Endorsements

Steel City Stonewall Democrats

Be sure to check out the questionnaires on the SCSD website. All of them. Read all of the questions and responses. It is definitely not a fair assumption that an out LGBTQ candidate has a solid grasp on LGBTQ political history or policies. Don’t make their mistake of ignoring the facts. Educate yourself. Three of […]

Fish Fry Friday: Javor Croatian National Hall on Pittsburgh’s Northside

Fish Fry Reviews Grand Jury Report

Welcome to Fish Fry Fridays, 2023 Edition! Click here to learn more about this project. Name: Croatian National Hall Javor (Northside) Date: February 24, 2023 Time We Ate: 5:45 PM Random review of #fishburgh adventures during Lent. Find a fish fry on this map! You can also follow them on Facebook and find tons of reviews and suggestions. In review, the factors […]

Latina Trans Woman Maria Jose Rivera Rivera, 22, Killed in Houston

Maria Jose Rivera Rivera was a 22-year-old Latina trans woman from El Salvador. Her death was first reported in late January, but unconfirmed by law enforcement investigators until recently. Maria Jose was killed in what’s described as a murder-suicide by an intimate partner on January 21, 2023 in Houston. Based on early reporting, her death […]

Community Cats

I Voted for Jimmy Carter When I Was in First Grade

Jimmy Carter

In October 1976, Jimmy Carter was the Democratic nominee for President. I was five years old, in first grade at New England Elementary School. Our teacher explained to us in very basic terms how an election worked and what it meant to vote. Mrs. Moreno was her name. I’m pretty sure this was tied to […]