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.

Marisela Castro, 39, Fatally Shot in Houston

Marisela Castro

Marisela Castro, 39, was born in Juticalpa, Olancho in Honduras. She spent most of her life in North Carolina where she attended Riverside High School, moved to Houston several years ago to be close to her sister and her nieces and nephews, She was a supporter of St. Jude’s Hospital and a fan of Bad […]

#ProtectTransKids Expands From Yard Signs to Stickers

Gestures like putting up lawn signs and window signs in businesses (especially when it’s not pride month) actually do make a difference and provide real relief in this moment when trans people are the political scapegoat for everything. Seeing that support means a lot, helps us breathe. We hear you folx. You asked repeatedly for […]

Black Trans Woman Hayden Davis, 28, Murdered in Detroit

Hayden Davis Detroit

Hayden Davis was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. On Monday, July 25, she lost her life there as reported by Dee Dee Watters of TransGriot. In another horrific attack affecting the LGBTQ+ community, a transgender woman was shot and killed in Detroit on Monday evening. Her body was found on the city’s east side, in the […]

Q&A With Trans Neighbor About TERF/Transphobic Stickering in Pittsburgh’s East End

TERF stickers Pittsburgh

Content Note: transphobia, TERF, fascism, harassment, images I went back and forth on whether or not we should do this Q&A because I was worried about 1) unnecessarily freaking out other trans people who have been blissfully unaware of these stickers 2) giving this terf the attention they want, potentially leading others to their cause. […]

Guilty Verdict for Local Woman Harassing Black Trans Teen and Her Family

This morning, a magistrate judge ruled that local woman Darian Balcom was guilty of harassment after erecting a 9-foot billboard in her backyard. The sign read ‘Transing is Abuse and Homophobia’ and Balcom direct the sign in to the window of a 15-year-old Black trans teen living next door with her multiracial, queer family. , […]

COVID Break

I tested positive for COVID

Monday night, I tested positive for COVID-19. So I may or may not be blogging this week, depending on how I feel. Right now, I feel just ‘meh’ but grateful it is not worse. I tested myself after our vacation. I was negative on Friday, but didn’t feel great Sunday night. It continued Monday so […]

Murder of Los Angeles Trans Woman Cherry Bush, 48 Officially a Hate Crime

Cherry Ryan Bush Sylvar

Cherry Bush was 48 years old, She was homeless, living in Sylmar a suburban neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley and is the northernmost neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles. On July 5, a 29-year-old man shot her after making disparaging comments based on her perceived gender identity (and sexual orientation.) She died the […]

Two Black Trans Women Died This Week, in Milwaukee and in Augusta

The week started with a terrible loss on Saturday, July 16, in Milwaukee where 34-year-old Toi Davis, a Black trans woman, was found dead in a local neighborhood under suspicious circumstances. Details around her death are not clear at this point, but the impact of her death among her friends and family leave little doubt […]

When They Said “Happy Anniversary” and No One Clapped

On our anniversary (July 18), we went on a dinner sunset cruise here in Erie. It wasn’t fancy, but it was nice. They asked for people to share birthdays and anniversaries so I impulsively told them it was our 19th anniversary. Laura looked at me and sighed. She was right. I asked the server if […]

500 Yard Signs to #ProtectTransKids

Yard Signs Pittsburgh

When I’m driving, well I know I’m gonna see,I’m gonna see the yard signs put up just for youWhen I’m walking, yeah I know I’m gonna seeI’m gonna see neighbors speaking out just for youWhen I’m biking well I know I’m gonna beI’m gonna be the one who delivers some signs just for youAnd when […]