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.

My Blog Turns 18 Today

18 candles

Jesus, it has been a year. The nonprofit I helped to found, Pittsburgh LGBTQ Charities, was in business and hit the ground running in January. My mother died in February. I received my second national #GLAADaward as Outstanding Blog in May. I threw out the first pitch during the Pittsburgh Pirates Pride Night at PNC […]

Final Arrangements for Franco Harris

On Tuesday, December 27, 2022, the public is welcome to pay their final respects to Franco at ACRISURE Stadium PNC Champions Club at Gate A from 1:00PM until 5:00PM. (Where Heinz Field used to be – had to add a Pittsburgh touch to the directions ~ Sue) Stadium parking lots will open at 11:00AM. For […]

Pittsburgh Holiday Gift Card Project for LGBTQ Kids Faces Multiple Attempts to Interfere Linked to Anti-Trans Extremists

PITTSBURGH – A local holiday gift card project for teens has faced two attempts to disrupt their efforts. Pittsburgh LGBTQ Charities (PLC) organized a gift card drive to support regional LGBTQ teens, ages 12-21, with a simple gift card worth $25. Two separate attacks on their registration process have slowed down their progress.  “This project […]

The Real Legacy of the Immaculate Reception and Franco Harris for this Pittsburgh Kid – Originally Posted in 2019

Franco Harris Pittsburgh

I first wrote this post in November 2019. I am reposting this morning in honor of Franco Harris and his family, Dana and Dok. Franco’s death ((March 7, 1950 – December 20, 2022) has layers of impact for all of us, in that very unique Pittsburgh way where this great man was far more than […]

No Crib For a Bed

Now I’ve heard there was a secret chord That David played, and it pleased the Lord But you don’t really care for music, do you? I’ve always known that my family moved to West Mifflin when I was a preschooler so while I can lay claim to that corner of the blue collar world as […]

Latina Trans Woman Caelee Love-Light Killed in Phoenix

Caelee Love-Light

Last week, 27-year-old Caelee Love-Light was found dead at the scene of a car incident in Phoenix, Arizona. The Latina transwoman succumbed to gunshot injuries she sustained while involved in some sort of altercation with the male occupant of the car. He was stabbed several times and later died of his injuries at a nearby […]

Black Trans Man Mar’Quis ‘MJ’ Jackson, 33, Killed in Philadelphia

Mar’Quis Jackson, known as MJ, turned 33 years old on December 12, 2022. He didn’t come home that night. Two days later, the Black trans man was found dead in the backyard of a residence in Nicetown, a Philadelphia neighborhood. The Philadelphia Police Department is investigating the death of a man found with trauma to […]

Extreme Right Wingers Target Pittsburgh ‘Donuts and Drag’ Campaign Event

It is not going to stop …. Rachael Heisler is running for the office of City Controller. She currently serves as deputy Controller in that office. A friend of Heisler’s offered to coordinate one of her campaign kick-off events a ‘Donuts and Drag’ morning event with donuts and a drag artist performing holiday tunes. The […]

Holiday Wishes From the Fort Faulsey Community Cats

When I suggested they write letters to Santa Paws, there was a lot of hissing, disdainful looks, and EJ jumping up and down in the background with excitement. So we compromised. Last year, I put up a Christmas tree and stockings and lights for them, but not this year. If you’d like to send them […]

Protecting Trans Kids During the Holidays

LGBTQ Gift Cards

Some folks are sending in photographs of their #ProtectTransKids yard signs with their holiday decorations. One person, bottom row, second from the right, organized their decor around the sign itself. Please feel free to send your own images to PLC folx@pghlgbtq.org We have ordered 1150 yard signs to date, since late June. There are still […]