Swami Nityananda Giri of Baltimore became a student of Swami Shankarananda Giri in 2010. Swami Shankarananda, who founded the Awake Yoga Meditation community, immediately recognized her as his successor. He announced that publicly in 2013 when he consecrated her as spiritual teacher and spiritual leader of the meditation community. In 2014 he consecrated her as a Swami and asked her to carry on his lineage and the teaching of Kriya Yoga. Since 2014 she has served as spiritual teacher and spiritual leader of Awake Yoga Meditation. As Juniper Ellis, she is Professor of English at Loyola University, where she teaches American Literature and World Literature Written in English. She earned her PhD at Vanderbilt University. She has held Fulbright grants in New Zealand and Germany, and other national awards including an Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship and an NEH grant. Her book Tattooing the World: Pacific Designs in Print and Skin was published by Columbia University Press. Her scholarly articles have appeared in respected journals in many English-speaking countries. Her teaching helps listeners and readers connect with the reality of love, wisdom, liberation, joy, harmony, and kindness. People who meditate with her find Swami Nityananda practices a selfless way of living in the world that asks, "How may I be of service?" and models through open-hearted, generous, and effervescent guidance, a path for us all to recognize our own inherent divine qualities, and to see the same in everyone.