Meet Dan Lord, a new creative force on The Mill team

On paper, Dan Lord’s new position at The Mill is an office assistant – you’ll see him at the front desk or helping out Director of Operations Rebecca Parsons. If all goes according to plan, Lord will be taking over Parsons’ position at the downtown location sometime next spring, when The Mill opens its planned Concord Pike location near Silverside Road.

The funny thing is that Lord first came into contact with The Mill, not as a job applicant, but as a percussionist.

Lord’s band, Earth Radio, has played The Mill’s holiday party as well as its second anniversary bash. As a musician, he knows spaces like The Mill are valuable, not just for tech, but for the arts, too.

“I came from a company called National HVAC Service, where I was an operations supervisor,” Lord says as he holds down the front desk on a recent fall afternoon. “I learned about The Mill through playing events, and I had gotten to a point where I felt kind of stagnant in my old job and was looking something where I could be more involved in the community. I’m friends with Rebecca – she presented the opportunity to me and I jumped on it.”

Parsons was his biggest advocate for filling the role. It’s only been a few of weeks, and Lord has already been given the task of event planning for Theatre N. His first event, featuring live music, will be held in January.

“I’m really interested in the event planning side of things,” he said. “In my personal life I’m a big proponent of the arts.”

The Mill has always embraced the creative, from its visual art exhibitions to its live music showcases, so it’s not a surprise to see a creative on track to be the Director of the downtown coworking space.

So far, Lord seems to be a good match in the sometimes challenging world of operating a coworking space. “It’s been a cool spot to work,” he said. “I’m settling in well.”

But what about Earth Radio? Well, they’re taking a break through December after a festival tour over the summer and an EP release in October. They’ll be one of the bands featured at the January music event at Theatre N. In the meantime, you can check out their new EP, We Built a Mountain, on Spotify.