Working collaboratively with practitioners in different fields, the Institute develops and hosts retreats and symposia, produces research and publications, and provides a hub for ongoing learning networks.
The site was formerly known as Glenclyffe, when it was the 19th century estate of New York Governor and U.S. Secretary of State Hamilton Fish, and it has changed little since it was solely inhabited by the Wappinger Nation of Native Americans.
The Garrison Institute's current building is a renovated version of the 77,000 square foot stone and brick monastery and seminary built by the Capuchin Franciscan Province of St. Mary in 1923.
The Institute brings together a mix of constituents: contemplative and spiritual teachers, academic scientists, and those working on new forms of social and environmental engagement.
Teachers and presenters at the Garrison Institute have included Adyashanti, the Dalai Lama, Rajmohan Gandhi, Philip Glass, Daniel Goleman, Mikhail Gorbachev, Paul Hawken, Father Thomas Keating, Sharon Salzberg, Pete Seeger, Roshi Enkyo O’Hara, Peter Senge, Lama Surya Das, Tsoknyi Rinpoche, Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, and many others.