This March, Jean McClelland, a faculty member at the Columbia University School of the Arts, will start her 34th year teaching Awakening Your True Voice at the New York Open Center. That’s a long tenure by any standard, so we asked McClelland to tell us about the Open Center and how she found herself teaching there.

“Quite unexpectedly, I came upon an Open Center catalog in a bookstore. As I read through it I was instantly inspired, and I knew I had to be part of this vital place,” she says. “That was reinforced when I met Ralph White, the director of programming and one of the founders of the Open Center. I had never met anyone so knowledgeable and visionary. It has been Ralph’s strong sense of holistic mission that has helped the Open Center thrive and given us such world-renowned programs as the Art of Dying Institute and Esoteric Quest.”

For more than 35 years, the Open Center, located in the Madison Square Park North Neighborhood, has hosted in-depth weekly programs, long-term studies and certificate training in holistic learning and world culture.

“I leave every class I teach totally invigorated,” McClelland says. “The Open Center brings together people of all ages and demographics who are committed to exploration. It’s a remarkable environment for learning and leads to tremendous growth and, quite often, transformation.”

The next course of Awakening Your True Voice begins March 23, with a free Introductory session March 16.

Location: 22 E. 30th St. For more information, visit JeanMcClellandVoice.com or OpenCenter.orghttp://JeanMcClellandVoice.com.