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.

Hypomania and King Cake

Things did get better over the weekend. But the hypomania is still lingering. You know that day when you are recovering from the flu or a bad cold and you think “hey maybe I could get through work” so you don’t blow another sick day? But you really need to take that sick day to […]

Arrest Made in 2021 Murder of Black Trans Woman Angel Naira in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania

Angel Naira Transgender

Angel Naira was 36 when she was found dead in her Aliquippa apartment from multiple gunshot wounds in late November 2021. On Friday, Pennsylvania State Police announced that they’ve arrested and charged 46-year-old Darese Darrel Raines on homicide and weapons charges. He’s being held in the Beaver County Jail without bond. From KDKA According to […]

Update

Yesterday I posted about my bout of hypomania. I don’t want anyone to worry so I’m checking in. First, I have a good treatment team and supportive wife. I’m safe, I’m not struggling alone or to get basic needs met. I am, however, struggling and feeling like crap. My mind is full of thoughts I […]

Hypomania is Here

I didn’t know ‘dread’ is a clinical symptom. The difference between anxiety and dread is that anxiety is an unpleasant state of mental uneasiness, nervousness, apprehension and obsession or concern about some uncertain event while dread is great fear in view of impending evil; fearful apprehension of danger; anticipatory terror. So my spin through last week took me down a dark path […]

My First Scottish Subscription ‘WeeBox’ Arrived

WeeBox

My first Wee Box, a Scottish cultural themed subscription service, arrived in January. When I received notice my next box is en route, I realized that I had not blogged about it! I learned about WeeBox through the podcast Stories of Scotland. A WeeBox contains five gifts  worth more than the cost of the box, often exclusive […]

The Groundhog Gate Continues in Pittsburgh Thanks to Animal Care & Control

Groundhog Pittsburgh Animal Care & Control

100+ LGBTQ Organizations and Leaders Call on New York Times to do Better by Transgender Community

Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents and Pittsburgh LGBTQ Charities both signed this letter. You can, too. http://glaad.org/nytimes Last night, my mother-in-law told my wife that girls dressed as cats requested litter boxes in their classroom. She’s a progressive person so were both appalled. My wife stopped her cold and explained how that myth is a lie and […]

An (un)Happy Valentines Day Thanks to City of Pittsburgh Animal Care & Control Dept

City of Pittsburgh Animal care and Control Dave Madden

Celebrating Valentine’s Day with peas, melon, and trapping groundhogs to save them from the callous disregard of Animal Care & Control, part of the Pittsburgh Public Safety Department. Callous disregard for the animals, yes. But more importantly, callous disregard for the elderly homeowner who is terrified of animals in her basement. We’ve been negotiating this […]

Ohio Based Huntington Billboards ‘Caters To Bigotry’ By Pulling Affirming Messages

Content Note: Images with racist language are in this post. Images with Nazi symbols are in this post. Remember the electronic billboards with hateful rhetoric located in Worthington, Armstrong County owned by John Placek? Here are some reminders Two updates One is that Placek teamed up with Owen Osterling to erect additional signs along Route […]

Q&A With Lita Brillman, Candidate for City Council District 5

Lita Brillman

This is how I have come to describe my campaign: Community-focused, data-driven. This is the next post of our 2023 primary election season series ‘Political Q&A’ with progressive candidates throughout Pennsylvania. Candidates can be anywhere in Pennsylvania running for any level of office. Please note that these are not necessarily endorsements, more of an opportunity […]