Brighid O’Keane is the Founder & Owner of Drafters Tea Company, based in Western North Carolina. Drafters Tea imports rare teas directly from a 5th-generation family farm in Thailand, where Brighid has lived and worked for over two decades. She has served as an advisor to the Specialty Tea Alliance and was a co-founder of Open Heart Tea Company. Brighid is also the Executive Director of the Cider Institute of North America, a global provider of cider production education, and previously worked in support of sustainable winegrowing in the Pacific Northwest. Brighid received the American Cider Association’s Significant Impact in the Cider Industry Award in 2024 and loves to bring people together around the amazing beverages they cultivate and craft.