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.

Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Presents Autism-Friendly ‘Wicked’: Q&A with Director of Accessibility Vanessa Braun

Wicked is a  piece of art that should be able to be enjoyed by everyone. The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust presents the autism-friendly  performance of WICKED on Saturday, February 3, 2018, at 2:00 p.m., at the Benedum Center, as a part of its national Broadway tour.  Pittsburgh will be the first city outside of New York to offer WICKED in this form. For this autism-friendly  performance […]

Hysterectomy Recovery Update Number Something

lesbian hysterectomy

This morning, Ledcat dragged me out of bed at some ungodly hour for my post-operative check up with my surgeon, Dr. Lee Hammons. The good news is that the news is good. My unexpected trip to the ER this Saturday produced a CT scan, bloodwork and more data for this visit. I’m healing. I don’t […]

Is This Blog The Key to Amazon Choosing Pittsburgh?

Yesterday, I received an email inviting me to set up an Amazon Influencer page via my Twitter account (@Pghlesbian24) which apparently is pretty sexy with all of you 7,430 followers. You know who you are. <wink emoji> This is my full disclosure. So I now have my own page where I recommend items that I […]

Happy 9th Gotcha Day Coco Kitty

Nine years ago, we took in a stray Siamese kitten (abt 6 months) for a few days. One flutter of those baby blue eyes against the blue rug in the bathroom and we were goners. Three days later, she was jumping on the kitchen cabinets and kneeding the dogs backs to make her napping spot. […]

Almost Time for Fish Fry Fridays 2018

Just three weeks to get myself healed up enough to hit the fish fry circuit. Lent begins on Wednesday, February 14, 2018 and continues through Holy Thursday on Thursday, March 29, 2018. That’s six Fridays plus Good Friday and Shrove Tuesday. Here’s how it works. We visit a different fish fry each week. The location […]

Outstanding Blog Category Tribute Video

My friend and co-nominee Mark S. King made a lovely tribute video announcing the nominees in the 29th Annual GLAAD Media Awards  

Hysterectomy Update: Now knowing what to ask about our bodies is how we end up losing ground with our own bodies

lesbian hysterectomy

It has been 11 days since my surgery. Most of those days have been filled with resting, walking around the house, resting, making sure that I eat, and reminding myself not to pick up a cat or dog. Our weather has been horrible so taking an outside walk was not an option, especially since my […]

We are a Finalist for ‘Outstanding Blog’ in 29th Annual GLAAD Media Awards

This is really an honor and a testament to what the team across the board at this blog has accomplished over the past 12 years. We’ve been named as one of five finalists in the ‘Outstanding Blog’ category for 29th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. The GLAAD Media Awards honor media for their fair, accurate, and […]

Pizza Milano and the Post-Gazette: Anti-Blackness in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Pizza Milano

I’ve been a little off the grid this past week. Of course, I’ve been paying attention to critical stories unfolding in Pittsburgh this week. These are stories I’ve been sharing via social media and would normally blog about. Front and center are the stories about the assault of Jade Martin by employees at Pizza Milano […]