The Long Beach Alumnae Chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota was chartered on March 15, 1949, at the oceanfront home of Opal Shattuck. The Chapter started with twenty-seven members, most of whom had recently moved to the Long Beach area. The first President was Helen Bretz.

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The new Long Beach Alumnae Chapter was immensely helpful to the development of the Gamma Pi collegiate chapter at California State University, Long Beach. Nadyne Gibson, a faculty member at the college, served as the Gamma Pi advisor; she held that position for twenty years. Other alumnae members hosted special events for the new collegiate chapter, and several alumnae members and Patronesses accompanied Gamma Pi to San Francisco for their installation during the 1959 National Convention.