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:

ActivismNaBloPoMoPolitics

That Time When Dan Onorato Didn’t Make Me Cry

January 13, 2014 by
Pittsburgh politics

Eleanor Roosevelt said: “A woman is like a tea bag – you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.” Tell us about a time you felt your strength. First of all, Eleanor Roosevelt probably didn’t say this. Many other people have said it, including Phyllis Schlafley and Hillary Clinton, […]

Education

My Commitment to Public Education – Learn More

January 13, 2014 by
Public Education Pittsburgh

Today’s blogging prompt involved finding a headline in my local paper and this is what I found Teacher Evaluation Fight May Prove Costly I could tell you about my  public education in the 1970’s and 1980’s in the West Mifflin School District. I could tell you about what I’ve learned through my work as a […]

CultureNaBloPoMo

How The Selfie Transformed My World

January 12, 2014 by
#365FeministSelfie

I absolutely hate photos of me. Or I used to hate them. Now I sometimes like some of them a little bit. Like many women, I am my own worst critic about my appearance. I’m fat, ugly, crooked teeth, scar on my lip, etc, etc, etc. But the thing I’ve hated the most are my […]

Activism

When Helpers Need Help: Reflection on Life As An Activist

January 11, 2014 by
Cathy Cairns

Cathy is 61 years old. Her professional career has spanned nearly four decades in a rural community just outside of Pittsburgh. As she faces her final days with a diagnosis of end stage pancreatic cancer, she finds herself without the financial means to pay for her final expenses – a funeral, gravesite and a headstone. […]

ActivismNaBloPoMo

She’s My Partner, Not My Sidekick

January 11, 2014 by
Pittsburgh Lesbian LGBT

One disadvantage to blogging is that I get “the glory” while Laura (Ledcat) often gets overlooked. And when I get the beat down side of a stick, she gets that, too. Unfair. Let me be clear – we are a family, a team, a partnership even if we are not married. She goes to work […]

CultureNaBloPoMoRecreation/Social

Mr. Rogers Was My Hero

January 10, 2014 by

When you were five years old, who was your hero? What do you think of that person today? My hero at the tender age of five was Mr. Fred Rogers. I started kindergarten at 4, turning 5 in late October. According to my mother, I would rush home from my half-day of education to flop […]

Other

He Doesn’t Mind, But I Do

January 9, 2014 by
Winter Coat Donate Pittsburgh

A pressure point translates in Japanese to “tender spot.” What are your pressure points? Tell us about the experience of being outside, looking in — however you’d like to interpret that. The interesting thing about pressure points is that you have to apply the right amount of pressure and in just the right direction to trigger […]

ActivismOther

FURTHER UPDATED: Beaver County LGBTQ Activist Has a Dying Wish

January 8, 2014 by
Cathy Cairns

UPDATE: Please note that the goal was increased due to the realization that a burial plot was not paid off as they originally thought. Many of you know Cathy Cairns. She has been a familiar face at many LGBTQ community events as well as an active participant in housing development projects. I am very sad […]

ActivismCultureNaBloPoMo

Peer Pressure Creates Important Conversation in the Queer Community

January 8, 2014 by
Pittsburgh LGBT

Can peer pressure be positive? Why or why not? Yes, being pressured toward healthy and positive behavior can be positive. Positive is offering encouragement when someone shares their fitness activities. Positive is not posting your own amazing story in the comments section as encouragement. Positive is a gentle nudge, a reminder, a supportive voice and […]

NaBloPoMoPolitics

Rainbows on Cupcakes and Pressure on Peers

January 7, 2014 by
Pittsburgh Blog

Tell us about a time when you didn’t bend to peer pressure, and you swam against the stream. AND Write about anything you’d like, but make sure that all seven colors of the rainbow — red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet — make an appearance in the post, either through word or image. Hello. My […]