Netanel Miles-Yépez is a Mexican-American artist, comparative religion scholar and teacher of contemporary spirituality. After learning that he was descended from a Mexican family of crypto-Jews, Netanel decided to study History of Religions at Michigan State University and Contemplative Religion at the Naropa Institute, specializing in comparative religion, mystical spirituality, and non-dual philosophies. In 1998, he moved to Boulder, Colorado, to study with the innovative Hasidic master and leader in ecumenical dialogue, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, founder of the Jewish Renewal movement. In addition to Schachter-Shalomi, he also studied with various Sufi masters and teachers of Buddhism, and counts Father Thomas Keating, Trappist monk and founder of the Centering Prayer movement, as an important influence. After years of working as a professional editor, and as the director of a non-profit, Netanel started Albion-Andalus Books to publish serious, though less obviously marketable works often overlooked by larger publishers.

Today, Netanel teaches in the Department of Religious Studies at Naropa University, and spends the rest of his time writing, painting and working on publishing projects. His paintings have been shown in a number of solo and group exhibits in Colorado, and as a writer, he is known for his critically acclaimed commentaries on Hasidic spirituality, A Heart Afire: Stories and Teachings of the Early Hasidic Masters (2009) and A Hidden Light: Stories and Teachings of Early HaBaD and Bratzlav Hasidism (2011), as well the edited volumes, The Common Heart: An Experience of Interreligious Dialogue (2006) and the award winning Living Fully, Dying Well: Reflecting on Death to Find Your Life’s Meaning (2009).