Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1540272
90 maconmagazine.com | October/November 2025 confi dent in their abilities, to relate to other people, and to have agency in their ability to be in a community, then that's the ultimate goal. On a bigger level, I want Christian communities to be able to more eff ectively and honestly welcome and engage the whole spectrum of human beings, from neurotypical to profoundly neurodivergent. I want places like churches to be that kind of community, and I want to off er them resources. I want to develop curriculum— resources, courses, certifi cations. Things that people can come to Mercer, or come to one of these churches, and learn how to do the things that we're hoping to build. Coming back to Macon, how do you feel like the city "chose you"? LESLEY: My initial perception of Macon coming as an outsider—this is kind of funny and a dated reference—but there's a "Sex in the City" episode where a character who's known as the Unstylish woman, and she proudly boasts that she is from Macon, Georgia. When Nate told me that that is where the university was that he was applying to, I'm like, you're moving me to the Unstylish Scrunchie city! I kind of had low expectations. But I feel very fortunate that between the community and Nate's colleagues at Mercer, with me stepping out and getting involved with local business networks, women's groups, and things like that, it has been such a pleasant surprise that Macon fi ts us so well. We're planning to stay put. We've moved every four years in our marriage. We still have family in Minnesota and Canada, so we're there every summer. But it's really nice to have this home base here, where both of us have careers we love that are thriving and doing well. I feel like Macon is a place where all of us creative weirdos are welcome to show up and do our thing and fi nd our spot. I know it can be tough coming into a city like Macon. There are a lot of people who have been lifelong Maconites, but I do feel like there is a lot of room for people who are new, and I'm really grateful for that. Even if it's not where we are originally from, it is where we're from now, and it's where our kids are from. One last question. Why do you think the arts and creativity are so important to a community like ours? NATE: Because arts and creativity are how you build relationships, and relationships matter. Creativity is the expression of making new places for people to fi nd belonging. That's what music is. That is the bedrock of what we do as people. think it is a much easier kind of fl ourishing here in Macon. We fi nd community and support and people who we work easily with. We've all had those diffi cult clients, diffi cult coworkers. Those are few and far between in Macon, and that's a real blessing. Would you say that the arts scene has helped grow your business to the scale that it is now? LESLEY: Absolutely. I think being involved with things like The Web and meeting Susannah [Cox Maddux], connecting through the Women About Business events, joining the Chamber [of Commerce], I've really done what I can to reach out to the community and get connected. It's been awesome fi nding my people here. Oh, and I joined the Junior League this year. I've been to Rotaries as well. I'm actually speaking at a Rotary in September. I've been invited to speak on an AI panel, which I'm excited for. Nate, let's shift to your work. Congratulations on your recent research grant at Mercer. What is the project about? NATE: Sure. We've named the project the Sacred Spectrum Project. It's designed for us to research and develop resources that will better include neurodivergent children in public acts of worship. Providing resources—educational but also musical and liturgical—for including those kids better and giving them ways of being a part of the community is what this grant is designed to do. It's a $1.25 million. It's from Lilly Endowment, Inc. for fi ve years. We've hired our assistant director, who will be moving here with his wife and newborn child in December. And Annie Stephens, who many in the Macon community already know, is working as our administrative support specialist. That's amazing. What do you hope the long-term impact of that research will be? NATE: The long-term impact is multifaceted. The fi rst level is for the children who are going to be immediately impacted. It's one thing to be included and to have accommodations made so that you can participate, but I want the kids to be able to learn social confi dence because of their ability to belong and be full participants. If they can learn to be "I feel like Macon is a place where all of us creative weirdos are welcome to show up and do our thing and find our spot." The Myricks with their two children.