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.

Update – Missing Person: Latina Trans Woman Africa Otero Died in a Car Accident

Africa Otero

Sadly, Africa Otero did not survive the evening. She was killed in an automobile accident. RIP, Africa. Africa Otero, 26, has not been heard from since 1 AM Sunday, March 20, when she posted a short video on YouTube from inside the Mamajuana club, on the first block of North 9th Street in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. […]

We’re on a Meal Train and We Love This Stuff

Casseroles when people are ill

Some lovely friends set up a Meal Train for us – it is a software/website resource that allows organizers to recruit folx to bring food to people in tough times – during a loss, an illness, a new baby, etc. Illness is our category. I’ve been writing a lot about that and the associated challenges. […]

If you walk away, I will follow

Pittsburgh Famous

Today is #FollowFriday which is something I just made up last week. I’ll post a video with some riff on “follow’ and you will return the favor by following me on social media. It is where I post tons and tons of cool links to all sorts of great reads. Plus, I have a dream […]

800 Calories a Day

Super Donuts

My doctor suggested I try logging my daily food consumption using a “diet” app so I can track my calorie intake.  That seemed smart. So I slogged through the Android app store to find something decent (ugghh) and have been logging for about three weeks. I am averaging 800 calories a day. I am aerating […]

Autistic Asian-American Teen Trans Woman Kathryn Newhouse Murdered by Her Father in Georgia

On Saturday March 19, 2022, a 19-year-old Asian-American autistic trans woman living with mental illness issues was murdered by her father in their family home. Her father then died by suicide using the same gun. Her name was Kathryn (Katie) Newhouse. A native of Illinois, Kathryn was most recently living with her family in Canton, Georgia. […]

My Grieving Chronicle at Five and a Half Weeks

Birthday party idea

It has been five and a half weeks since my mother died. The phrase “and I still haven’t’ really cried” keeps coming to my lips, as if there’s a certain moisture emission density that is necessary to be a proper mourner. But it is true that I have not cried a lot, more often oozing […]

Black Trans Woman Tatiana Labelle Murdered in Chicago

Tatiana Labelle

On Friday, March 18, 2022, the body of Tatiana “Tee Tee” Labelle was discovered after she had been listed as missing for five days in her Chicago hometown. Police are describing her death as a murder investigation after an autopsy on Saturday. Tatiana Labelle, 33, was last seen on the 700 block of East 84th […]

As we followed him down To the station

Pittsburgh Famous

Today is #FollowFriday which is something I just made up tonight (Thursday night) I’ll post a video with some riff on “follow’ and you will return the favor by following me on social media. It is where I post tons and tons of cool links to all sorts of great reads. Plus, I have a […]

Is St. Gertrude Really the Patron Saint of Cats? And Who Are the Cat Folx?

St. Gertrude

We have a little St. Gertrude plastic figurine holding a cat sitting above our sink. Friends gave it to us. It is cute, but I had never heard about a patron saint of cats until then. If you are on social media today (St. Patrick’s Day), you’ll see lots of references to St. Gertrude because […]

Beautiful – the Carole King Musical this weekend in Pittsburgh

This weekend only, the Cultural Trust will present the Carole King musical. You should go. Fri, Mar 18 – Sun, Mar 20, 2022 Beautiful – The Carole King Musical tells the inspiring true story of King’s remarkable rise to stardom, from being part of a hit songwriting team with her husband Gerry Goffin, to her relationship […]