Sue

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.

Posts by Sue:

FamilyHealthTrauma

On Being a Woman

March 16, 2022 by

When I was a teenager and young adult, I struggled with the simple concept that I was a woman. I wasn’t questioning my gender identity; I was questioning my validity. Anytime I had to say something like “I’m a woman” in any context, I was self-conscious and awkward and keenly aware that I felt ‘othered.” […]

HistoryLGBTQ

Statement on Queer Women’s History Month

March 16, 2022 by
Queer Women's History Month

I drafted this for another purpose. It wasn’t utilized, so I decided to publish myself just for the record. ~ Sue Women have always walked these grounds we know as Pittsburgh, forging paths and paying the way for future generations. The documented history of Pittsburgh might have primarily been controlled by men, but the living, […]

Health

double, double. toil, and trouble.

March 12, 2022 by

My therapist encouraged me to buy some clothing that fits my shrinking body. So a few months ago, I bought two pairs of Old Navy sweatpants and they fit reasonably well. I took a leap and advantage of a sale to buy five more pairs. Same size. Too big. Too big. Slide off when I […]

ActivismFamilyIn MemoriamTrans

Trans People Are Relevant

March 11, 2022 by
Matthew Spampinato

Yesterday, a family friend of Matthew Spampinosa left a comment on this blog post about his death. I was appalled enough to draft a message in response to her, but my gut tells me she isn’t going to hear me. So I opted to share my thoughts with you. After all, just today Georgia introduced […]

Family

Waiting for the Appliance Repairman

March 10, 2022 by

The term ‘appliance repairman’ is almost quaint. Perhaps ‘appliance repairperson’ would be better if more difficult. But Mr. Spirko has been repairing our appliances since 2003 or so, so I’ll allow for the throwback to 1970. Laura and I are both unable to recall how we learned about him. There used to be a Northside […]

Family

And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

March 9, 2022 by

Tomorrow will be one month without my mother in this world. That feels momentous, like a tick closer on the timeline of her disappearance from this world. A month, then two, then six, and a year. And so forth. Her birthday. Her private significant milestone dates. I’ll put them all in my phone to remind […]

Political Q&APoliticsRacial Justice

Q&A With Jerry Dickinson, Candidate for U.S. Congress PA-12

March 7, 2022 by

Yes, I am committed to a fully inclusive Equality Act that includes gender identity. I would not vote for a version that focuses on sexual orientation and not gender identity as this would exclude a large population of the LGBTQIA+ community. Our trans and non-binary siblings need powerful, equitable representation and protection This is the […]

Health

GI Sue: Part Six in a Chronic Health Crisis

March 7, 2022 by
Sue Kerr Cats

G.I. are initials used to describe the soldiers of the United States Army and airmen of the United States Air Forces and general items of their equipment.[1] The term G.I. has been used as an initialism of “Government Issue,” “General Issue,” or “Ground Infantry,” but it originally referred to “galvanized iron,” as used by the logistics services of the United States Armed Forces.[2][3] During World War I, American soldiers sardonically referred to […]

In MemoriamTrans

Trans Man Matthew Spampinato Killed in Hit and Run While Walking Home From Work

March 4, 2022 by
Matthew Spampinato

Matthew Angelo Spampinato was a 21-year-old white man living in New Castle, Delaware walking home from work when he was run down by a hit-and-run driver on February 9, 2022. The accident took place along State Route 237 near the intersection with Quigley Avenue. Matthew was born and raised about an hour outside of Atlanta, […]

In MemoriamTrans

Trans woman Geri Judd shot to death in September 2021, identity comes to light in March 2022

March 4, 2022 by
Geri Judd

Geri Judd, a transgender woman, was found shot to death on 28 September 2021 in her apartment in Bossier City, Louisiana. Her death has just come to light because her gender identity was not adequately noted or reported. According to HRC, the Bossier City Police Department found Judd’s body during a welfare check on September 28, […]