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:

In MemoriamRacial JusticeTrans

Two Additional BIPOC Trans Women Died in 2021

February 13, 2022 by
Rubi Dominguez and Keeva Scatter

PinkNews and TransGriot join the HRC in shining a light on the deaths of two trans women of color, both during 2021 and but only now coming to light with robust details. On Friday July 16th in Arlington TX, Arlington police were called to the 2100 block of N. Collins Street around 3:30am to find […]

FamilyIn Memoriam

My Mother Died Last Night

February 11, 2022 by

Updated with final arrangements below. This was a Facebook post I created this morning. I’m posting here to preserve it. I will write a more traditional obituary later. ~ Sue Last night, my mother died of complications from pneumonia. She was 79 years old. Her name was Kerry Anne Pryor Kerr. Final arrangements will be […]

ReviewThe ArtsThings To Do

Review: ‘Pretty Woman the Musical’ from the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

February 8, 2022 by

Read here for more information on COVID-19 protocols at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Last Tuesday, my musical loving friend, Sarah P, and I ventured to the Benedum to see “Pretty Woman” the musical. Based upon the 1990’s movie, it is a Cinderella fairy tale of sorts for the modern age. The show began with an […]

Pittsburgh Cat Ladies

How to Dress Like Cat Folx (or a Cat Lady)

February 7, 2022 by

There are two types of attire for cat folx. There’s the fun, cute, stylish stuff – the sweaters and anything with knit-in cat ears. Things you wear for fun. The gift items someone buys you for your birthday. I have scores of socks, several tee shirts, and one bedazzled sweatshirt. Then there’s the things you […]

CultureInternationalReviewThe Arts

Chimerica: Post-Production Thoughts

January 31, 2022 by

Under the category of ‘better late than never’ – I’m finally writing about my experience watching Quantum Theatre production of Chimerica. It was my first Quantum Theater production. I don’t know why that is the case. But it felt fitting that Chimerica was my first show and my first live theater performance since the the […]

Health

If you can’t maintain a conversation, it’s probably time to find a therapist not a Facebook meme

January 30, 2022 by

Over the past month or so, I’ve noticed that more and more often communication is delayed? Stilted? Fading? Still, I don’t agree with this meme. Post-apocalyptic movies and most of history teaches us that nothing of this magnitude ‘ends’ – our entire world is irrevocably altered in ways we cannot control or understand. Waiting for […]

In MemoriamTrans

31-year-old Trans Woman Nikki Turrietta Killed Dec 31, Now Identified in Albuquerque, New Mexico

January 28, 2022 by

Nikki Turrietta was a 31-year-old trans woman living in Albuquerquee, New Mexico. She was found shot to death on December 31, 2021, but misgendering delayed notification of the community. Born and raised in Albuquerque, she attended Rio Grande High School and Amy Biehl High School, and studied at the University of New Mexico. When correcting […]

Pittsburgh Cat Ladies

Help Keep Outside Kitties Warm and Comfy

January 27, 2022 by

We have a very specific need at the Fort Faulsey colony, if you are feeling an impulse to help animals. Our cats have shelters stuffed with straw, feeding stations that use heated discs to keep the water from freezing over and the food as well. When it is dry, the cats stretch out on the […]

SportsTraumaYouth

Sled Riding the Pipeline in West Mifflin

January 26, 2022 by
Sled Riding in the 1970s

And though he never would wave goodbyeYou could see it written in his eyesAs the train rolled out of sightBye-bye In this cold snap, I drive to my cat colony even though it is faster to walk. Not so much faster now sliding on the snow and exerting myself to get the gate unlocked and […]

ActivismLGBTQ

Call To Action: Stop Chambersburg from Repealing Local Non-Discrimination Ordinance

January 23, 2022 by

The newly elected Borough Council in Chambersburg plans to vote on Monday, January 24 to repeal a local non-discrimination ordinance just four months after it was enacted. From PennLive The ordinance, which extends protections against discrimination to gay, transgender or genderqueer people in employment, housing and public accommodations, was passed in October by the then-Democratic […]