Gerrie Schipske

Gerrie Schipske is a Registered Nurse Practitioner, attorney, and university instructor. Her parents came to Long Beach in the late 1940′s and she was born in 1950 at the Long Beach Naval Hospital. She and her partner of 33 years, Flo Pickett, have raised three wonderful children.

Her career includes public service at the city, state and congressional levels and service on local boards — including the Board of Health and Human Services, CSULB Headquarters Joint Powers Authority and the Queensway Bay Committee that guided development of the Aquarium of the Pacific. She teaches health care administration and senior studies at CSULB.

In 1992, she was elected to the Long Beach City College Board of Trustees. She is the proud founder of the Community Baby Shower, the Long Beach Police Department’s Women’s Advisory Committee, Long Beach Cares, RxforLongBeach.com and The Long Beach Rosie the Riveter Foundation.

In 2006, she was elected to a four year term as the Councilmember for the 5th District in Long Beach and re-elected in 2010 with over 63% of the vote. Mayor Foster has appointed her to represent the City Council on the Spring Street Joint Powers Authority, and the Independent Cities Association. Her City Council Standing Committee assignments include: Personnel and Civil Service Committee, Chair; Public Safety Committee, Vice Chair; Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Her efforts to “Open Up Long Beach” won praise in the 2013 State of Transparency Report produced by California Forward, a non-partisan organization focused on making local government more accessible. She was appointed in 1996 to the US Attorney General’s National Advisory Committee on Violence Against Women and in 2007 she was appointed by California Senate Rules Committee to the Medical Board of California. Serving her second term, she is also Vice President of the Medical Board and the first and only Registered Nurse in the US to serve on a state medical board.

Gerrie is the author of three books on the history of Long Beach which are published by Arcadia Publishing: Rosie the Riveter in Long Beach, Early Aviation in Long Beach, and Early Long Beach.