Did you know we have an Ambassador from Erie? 

William Heidt, the son of the late Robert E. Heidt and Audrey C. Heidt, had six siblings John D. Heidt, Paul E. Heidt, Beth Heidt Praskwiecz, Catherine Heidt Savvas, and the late Stephen R. Heidt and Kenneth R. Heidt.

Anyone living in Millcreek during the 1960s to 1970s would be aware of the Heidt family and their farm. They were very involved at St. George Catholic Church. 

According to an Erie Reader article, Bill Heidtgrew up in Millcreek near J.S. Wilson on his grandfather's land. His grandfather, also Bill Heidt, was a Millcreek township supervisor, and it gave young Bill a yearning for a government career. "I remember when Saigon fell in 1975, which was kind of the symbolic end of the Vietnam War. I was about 14 at the time. I had no idea I would be living there [22 years later]," he said in the article.

Bill graduated from McDowell High School and earned a Bachelor's degree in Foreign Service and International Politics from Pennsylvania State University and later earned a master's degree in International Relations from George Washington University before joining the U.S. Foreign Service. 

During a career spanning more than three decades, Ambassador Heidt served in key diplomatic assignments in Cambodia, Indonesia, Poland, New York, and Washington, D.C. Prior to becoming ambassador, he served as Chief of Staff to the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment at the U.S. Department of State, helping shape American policy on international trade, economic diplomacy, energy, and environmental issues. 

As Ambassador to Cambodia, Heidt worked to expand trade and investment, strengthen democratic institutions and human rights, support entrepreneurship, and encourage the growth of Cambodia's technology sector. Earlier in his career, he earned the State Department and Department of Labor's Excellence in Labor Diplomacy Award for his work supporting workers' rights and independent labor unions in Cambodia.

A gifted linguist, Ambassador Heidt speaks Khmer, Polish, Indonesian, and German. He remains one of Erie's most accomplished international public servants, representing American interests across Europe and Asia while building bridges between nations and cultures.

The ambassador is married with one son.  You can read the entire Erie Reader article on Bill here.