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:

Entertainment and MediaPets

I Watched ‘The Tragedy of MacBeth’ With My Cats

January 16, 2022 by

I can’t recall the last time I watched a performance of MacBeth and Laura has never seen it before so this was a good way to spend our Saturday evening. With cats. Sharing the screen are some of our foster kittens and some of our resident critters. The seal-tipped Siamese kitten is six month old […]

ActivismRacial JusticeSports

Here You Go, Steelers

January 16, 2022 by
Steelers Fight Song

I am not a fan of the Steelers, most specifically because of Ben Roethlisberger’s history as a sexual predator and the team’s embrace of the ‘he found Jesus/wife/kids’ solution to the fallout. I’ve been quite glad to see that amidst all of the hoopla about his retirement, the stories of his sexual violence are still […]

Pittsburgh Cat Ladies

Winter Is Coming This Weekend – For the Cats

January 14, 2022 by
Winter is Coming

Here comes what we expect to be the first snowstorm of 2022. Community cat colonies need your help right now. I need your help. I put together a winter list of supplies that will help caretakers – we all especially need warming sources. Winter Snowstorm Cat Wish List If you order the heating supplies tonight […]

ActivismHealthHistory

Do You Have a Hard Copy of the 2003 ‘Voices for a New Tomorrow’ Needs Assessment?

January 12, 2022 by

If you were active in the regional community around 2003 (pre-Delta era) – I’d like to talk with you. In January 2003, Persad Center published a community needs assessment in conjunction with the Gay and Lesbian Community Center (now the Pittsburgh Equality Center) and The Seven Project. The researchers were Dr. Sandra Quinn and Dr. […]

In MemoriamRacial JusticeTrans

Black Trans Woman Killed in December Hit-and-Run Now Identified as Za’Niyah Williams

January 10, 2022 by
Za'Niyah Williams

Za’Niyah Williams was a 21-year-old Black trans woman. She was born in Pasadena, California and most recently lived in Houston, Texas. On December 20, she was killed in a hit and run car incident in the Oak Creek Village section of Houston. Police were unable to identify her at first so she was listed as […]

Pittsburgh Cat Ladies

Married White Cat Lady ISO a Shed

January 9, 2022 by

  I need a shed. Every week, someone calls me or reaches out offering to donate their gently used pet stuff – beds, bowls, carriers, crates, litter pans, sheets, etc. And these items are in great demand by cat colony caretakers, rescue groups, and more. It is a fantastic example of a community connecting the […]

Health

Do you know of an immunologist with subspecialty in GI disorders?

January 7, 2022 by
Do you know of an immunologist with subspecialty in GI disorders?

Apparently, this is the person I need to find. Actually, it can also be a gastroenterologist with subspecialty of immunology. Help?

In MemoriamRacial JusticeTrans

24-year-old Black Trans Woman Duval Princess Fatally Shot in Jacksonville, Florida

January 6, 2022 by
The Duval Princess

On the second day of 2022, a second Black trans woman has died in ‘suspicious’ circumstances. Her name was The Duval Princess. She was 24 years old, born and raised in Jacksonville. She was the oldest of 10 children and served as a parental figure to her younger siblings. Initial reporting misgendered Duval. Friends reached […]

In MemoriamRacial JusticeTrans

Black Trans Woman Amäriey Lèį (Myara) Shot to Death in Pittsburgh on New Years Day

January 3, 2022 by
Amäriey Lèį (Myara)

Southwestern Pennsylvania, specifically Pittsburgh, has once again taken a seat front and center in the campaign of terror targeting the transgender community. The first reported violent death of 2022 took place at 6 AM in the morning in Wilkinsburg, a borough adjacent to the eastern border of the City of Pittsburgh. Her name was Amäriey […]

FamilyQ&ARacial JusticeThe Arts

Q&A with Industrial Artist and Musician Josiah

January 1, 2022 by

One of the perks of blogging for 16 years is being able to share a little more deeply the content I reference on my social media channels. I decided to make my first post of 2022 about my family. This is my nibling/nephew, Josiah. He is 14, close to 15. He’s always had an affinity […]