If I ran the zoo

La Conner Weekly News’ resident “zookeeper” columnist is Mel Damski, who has directed 29 movies and hundreds of hours of series television, from MASH to Boston Legal. For the last eight years, he has been the producer-director of Psych on USA network.

He has been nominated for an Oscar, two Emmy Awards, and earned a Christopher Award for Everybody’s Baby: the Rescue of Jessica McClure.

A graduate of theAmericanFilmInstituteCenterfor Advanced Film Studies, Mel has taught at AFI, USC and most recently NYU. He is the founder of the Cascadia Film Workshops, which will launch for two weeks this June on the campus of western WashingtonUniversityinBellingham, Washington.

A former Newsday reporter, Mel’s weekly column, “If I Ran The Zoo,” was awarded First Place Column by the Washington Newspaper Publisher’s Association last fall. His columns can be found on his blog IfMelRanTheZoo.com.

Mel is a member of theAcademyofMotion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Director’s Guild of America. He was the co-chairman of the DGA Creative Rights Committee for many years and served on the Health and Pension Board. He also created the Director’s Guild charity golf tournament.

Mel is married with ?ve children. His wife, Susan Damski, teaches third-grade at St. Paul the Apostle school in Los Angeles.