After 14 months, Peter Quinn is stepping down as executive director of the Northwest Entrepreneur Network next month. The former HouseValues and Western Wireless Executive plans to take a job at the Northwest Maritime Center in Port Townsend.

"My reasons are strictly personal. If there were a way to stay I would," Quinn writes in a blog post. "NWEN is an important cog in the entrepreneurial wheel. It’s mission is an important one and I look forward to watching it continue. I leave with nothing but good wishes for everyone involved. I will miss it."

Quinn recently moved into a home in Port Townsend, where his wife opened a new store for writers. He also said he has a passion for boats.

The departure comes at a tough time as the economy continues to sink and entrepreneurs struggle to stay afloat. The new director -- job description here -- will have his or her hands full trying to run a non-profit enterprise in these challenging waters.

There are several people who are up to the task.

nPost founder Nathan Kaiser, an NWEN board member who posted the news on the Seattle startup list, could be a good fit. He's young, entrepreneurial, well connected and has an eye for cool technologies that could assist the group.

Janis Machala, a past director of NWEN, certainly would have the experience to pull it off, though she is tied up with a new gig at the University of Washington's department of tech transfer.

An experienced entrepreneur -- someone like Brent Frei, Brian McAndrews, Mike Koss, Will Hodgman -- also could bring new energy to the group. "For the right person, this is a dream job," board members write on the Web site. 

NWEN also could try to shake things up by attracting someone from outside the region. Or they could play it safe by bringing in a no nonsense manager for an interim period in order to navigate the next several months.

Who do you think would be a good candidate?