As far as I can tell, Michael Seiwerath is the nicest person in
Seattle. Anonymous Slog commenters think so (“Michael Seiwerath should
get a key to the city”). Northwest Film Forum board members think so
(“God, I love Michael!”). Even random friends I happened to be chatting
with on Gmail think so (“He is so adorable and so is his family”).
Maybe that’s why everyone laughed at me when I asked the obligatory
question: Was it Seiwerath’s decision to step down as executive
director of Northwest Film Forum or was he, you know, asked to leave?
“It was both a surprise and, um, not a surprise,” explains Alan
Pruzan, NWFF board member and former president. “It’s hard for someone
to be in that position for such a long time at such a low salary. He
realized that he wasn’t burned out yet, but he could be at some point
soon.”
Nonprofit salaries are lean by definition—in 2006 NWFF paid
Seiwerath, who has two young daughters, exactly $29,400—but
Seiwerath says the money wasn’t a deciding factor. “The pay’s not been
a huge part of my decision—I’ve been really good at living at
this level for a decade… I’ve been here for 12 years and I feel like
it’s time for me to move on to something else. I feel really open to
the future.”
But even if the salary wasn’t a factor for Seiwerath, mightn’t it
complicate the search for a replacement? “That’s a real issue, and
we’ve always known it’s an issue,” Seiwerath says. “It’s a good time
for a conversation about growing the budget and growing the
payroll, and about expectations that a new person might have.”
“The organization is strong enough to be able to field this as an
opportunity rather than a devastating blow,” explains Pruzan. “People
of the caliber that we will be looking for will see it as a fantastic
opportunity in a fantastic city.”
The board is meeting this week to form a committee that will conduct
the nationwide search. Seiwerath will stay for another six months.
After that, he says, “I probably need a year, and the organization
needs its own breathing space, and things will change under a new
director, and that’s great.” Then, he says, he’ll most likely join the
board.
As for Seiwerath’s career, he has no specific plans. “Maybe he’ll
make a movie, or maybe he’ll do something entirely different,” suggests
board member Betsey Brock. “Maybe he’ll become a gentleman
farmer… But I have a hard time imagining what NWFF is going to
become without him.” 
