Nancy Bikoff Pettit

Nancy Bikoff Pettit, PMHS Class of 1971, was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 24, 2015 as the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Latvia. Ambassador Pettit has been a member of the Foreign Service since 1985. Before here current appointment, she most recently served as Director of the Office of Western European Affairs in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, a position she held since 2013. Previously she served as Director of the Office of Policy Planning and Coordination in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (2010-2013). Ambassador Pettit has also served as Counselor for Law Enforcement Policy and Assistance in Moscow; Press Attaché in Kyiv; and Political Unit Chief in Vienna. In Washington D.C., Ambassador Pettit has worked in the Coordinator’s Office for Assistance to Newly Independent States, the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, and the Board of Examiners. She has also worked at the American Institute in Taiwan. 

Ambassador Pettit has received seven U.S. State Department Meritorious Honor awards and two Superior Honor awards. She has a master’s degree from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s degree from Vassar College. In addition to Latvian, she speaks Russian, Ukrainian, German, and Spanish. 

Ambassador Pettit is married to James D. Pettit, also a Foreign Service Officer and currently serving as the U.S. Ambassador to Moldova. They have two grown children. Ms. Pettit grew up in Patchogue—where her father, Dr. David Bikoff, was a much beloved family doctor, and her mom, Muriel was a busy volunteer, devoted to her family and many friends—along with three siblings, Russell Bikoff, Ellen Phipps and Barbara Bikoff.