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.

Girl Scouts! Get Those Cookies To The GLCC

We have a plan. Thank the Girl Scouts of America for standing up FOR #LGBT girls and tolerance and diversity. Buy one extra box of Girl Scout cookies. Then donate to the GLCC Youth Programs (www.glccpgh.org) for their support of transyouth right here in Pgh. For more details, reread this post. This is not a […]

LGBT Volunteerism – Time to Step Forward

LGBT Volunteerism – Time to Step Forward

GLENDA is an amazing resource. I’ve participated both as a volunteer and as an organization using their talents. It is a locally grown treasure. I’m sad that they are in dire straights. I wish I had the time to make a commitment. The best I can do is to ask you to consider doing so. […]

Its Okay Because My Friend is Gay #FAIL

Reprinted from Bilerico.com This morning a friend contacted me to share her disgust hat a local radio program was doing a sketch bit about “trannies” – it seems that they were guessing the biological gender of a photo array of sex workers. Yep, that’s what passes for morning entertainment in Pittsburgh. Before you ask, yes, I did contact […]

Rick Santorum. The Big Sigh.

Rick Santorum. The Big Sigh.

OMG. I can’t believe Rick Santorum is still relevant … I mean LEADING candidate at this point. What is wrong with America? The man lost his Senate seat by 18 points. I”m not even sure how to say this. He’s nuts. He’s absolutely beyond the normal crazy and I know crazy. His views are based […]

Lent

Trevor Project Unveils PSA During GLEE

Trevor Project Unveils PSA During GLEE

Last night’s GLEE has my in tears for most of the show. The Valentine’s episode made me suspicious that there would be such a situation with Dave Karofsky, but the scene leading up to his attempt was heartwrenching. If you aren’t convinced about the impact of bullying of LGBT kids, I urge you to watch […]

The Civil Discourse of (Alleged) Religious Persecution

The Civil Discourse of (Alleged) Religious Persecution

I had somewhat modest hopes when I read the headline to Ruth Ann Dailey’s most recent column “A civil solution to same-sex marriage angst” Same sex marriage? Wow, that’s a big step forward from “gay marriage” and slightly more accurate if not as preferable as “marriage equality.” Ruth Ann, though, ensnared me in the quite […]

Sue on Bilerico – Infusing LGBT into BlogLocal

Pittsburgh is where it all began. I <3 Pittsburgh gave birth to the idea that a compilation of blogs could give someone a feel for the vibe, the pulse of a region. Hence, BlogLocal.  You’ll note that there are a lot of blogs from Pittsburgh, but many still to be entered. Such is the hazard […]

Reparative Therapy

Please read this powerful and heartwrenching Part I in a series about reparative therapy. Truth Wins Out This is something I have never thought about. One of the saddest parts of reparative therapy is the way it destroys relationships, because clients are falsely led to believe their parents caused their homosexuality. This unscientific and unfounded […]

Pennsylvania’s 22nd House District Endorsement – WTF?

This past Sunday, the Allegheny County Democratic Committee endorsed people.  Yes, they picked Altmire over Critz which we will visit in another post. But I’m concerned about my district, the 22nd district in the House of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, formerly occupied by Chelsa Wagner. Up until Sunday, I could not get a whiff of […]