Netanel Miles Yépez

Netanel Miles-Yépez, DD, serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Wisdom Traditions at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. He holds multiple leadership positions including Chair of Wisdom Traditions, Chair of BA Religious Studies, and Director of the Keating-Schachter Center for Interspirituality. Miles-Yépez is also the current Pir (spiritual guide) of the Inayati-Maimuni lineage of Sufism and co-founder of the Charis Foundation for New Monasticism & Interspirituality.

Dr. Miles-Yépez received his Doctor of Divinity (Sufi Ijazat-Nama) and Bachelor of Arts degrees. His educational journey included studies in history of religions and comparative religion at Michigan State University, where he developed his foundational knowledge in religious traditions. He later studied with Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, founder of the Jewish Renewal movement, and various Sufi masters and Buddhist teachers.

As a leading thinker in the Interspiritual and New Monasticism movements, Miles-Yépez specializes in comparative religion with particular expertise in Sufism, Hasidic Judaism, and contemplative traditions. His research explores the intersections between religious traditions, focusing on how mystical practices from different faiths can inform and enrich contemporary spiritual life. He has developed innovative approaches to interspiritual dialogue that honor tradition while creating space for new religious expressions. His work bridges academic religious studies with practical spiritual guidance, making complex theological concepts accessible to broader audiences.

As an artist, Miles-Yépez creates vibrant paintings influenced by traditional religious imagery and his Mexican-American heritage. His artistic work explores religious iconography, myth and symbol, cultural impressions, and his own ancestry, representing a lifelong fascination with the acculturation and use of traditional symbols in a new multicultural paradigm.

Dr. Miles-Yépez co-founded the Inayati-Maimuni Order with Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi in 2004, fusing Sufi and Hasidic principles of spirituality. He has taught at Naropa University since 2013, offering courses on Religion and Mystical Experience, Interspiritual Dialogue, Contemplative Islam, Sufism, Contemplative Judaism, and Yoga Studies. His teaching approach emphasizes experiential learning and the practical application of religious wisdom in contemporary life.