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

Two Women Who Restored My Faith in Humanity Yesterday

November 8, 2013 by

1.  State Representative Naomi Jakobbsen of Illinois left the bedside of her dying son to vote yet on “marriage equality” – a measure that passed with a cushion of one vote. Tragically, her son died before she could return to the hospital. How do you adequately say thank you to someone who would do this? For […]

NaBloPoMoOther

SRRK in the USA – Hey!

November 7, 2013 by

The Prompt: If you had to switch your first name, what name would you choose and why? My full name is Susan Rebecca Rachel Kerr. I was named after my mother’s sister (Susan) and an alleged great-great grandmother (Rebecca.) Legend has it that my mother wanted to name me Rebecca Susan and call me Becky Sue. […]

Politics

Election Wrap Up

November 6, 2013 by

There are simply no words to describe how I feel to know that Bill Peduto is the Mayor-Elect of Pittsburgh. As a woman, a lesbian, a social worker and a person living with a disability  – I just can’t find the right words. Relief? Thankful? Even hopeful?   Other notable electoral news across the queerosphere […]

Culture

Sometimes, You Holiday In a Restaurant

November 6, 2013 by

Sometimes we celebrated Thanksgiving at home – just me, little brother and my parents. My Mum is not a great cook, but she pulled this meal off pretty well. Sometimes, we went to my aunt’s house a few miles away. That was more “special” but also strange because there were so many people and different […]

ActivismRecreation/Social

So, what will happen if an out athlete becomes an Olympic champion?

November 5, 2013 by

Via Buzzfeed Sochi is almost here. It has a very immediate impact on LGBTQ Pittsburgh – our beloved Evgeni Malkin is Russian and will play for Team Russia. His teammates, some of whom have spoken openly as allies, will play for Team USA. That’s nothing new. But they all have LGBTQ fans here in the US (and elsewhere.) […]

NaBloPoMoOther

The Couch

November 5, 2013 by

The Prompt: Tell us about your writing space. Where do you write your blog posts? For the past 7 years, I have composed nearly all of my blog posts from the right side of our blue love seat using my 7+ year old Dell Inspiron Laptop. Occasionally, I’ve used a library computer or my phone. But this […]

CultureNaBloPoMoRecreation/Social

Luke Spencer. No Apologies.

November 4, 2013 by

The Prompt: Who is your favourite character of all time? So this is tricky because “all time” means of all the time and I’m not good with commitment. I also have a penchant for disillusionment – am I alone in finding Little Women disappointing as an adult? I mean – the domestic goddess Meg scenes […]

Reviews, Interviews, Giveaways

Movie Review: The Hot Flashes

November 4, 2013 by

I’ve been waiting to see “The Hot Flashes” since summer when I read a recap/preview on the Bitch Media blog.  Brooke Shields, Darryl Hannah, Wanda Sykes, Camryn Manheim and Virginia Madsen …. playing basketball. And with the Bitch seal of approval, I knew it wasn’t going to be too schlocky. The setup is fairly conventional stuff – Beth’s […]

ActivismNaBloPoMo

Raise Your Hands. Raise Your Hands High.

November 3, 2013 by

We often take our hands for granted, much in the same way those in authority take the diligence and support of the hands of the working folks for granted – like them, we assume our own hands will toil until they. simply. Don’t. Through the dustbowl Through the debt Grandma was a suffragette Blacklisted for […]

NaBloPoMo

Saturday Memory: Margaret Hamilton on Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood

November 2, 2013 by

As most children of the 70’s in Pittsburgh are apt, I do love Mr. Rogers. My Mum describes how I would rush pell mell home from the busstop to watch him after kindergarten each day. I don’t really remember that (I was 4 and 5) but I do have a few vivid memories of the […]