Audrey Hood is an educator and nonprofit leader with a deep passion for supporting children and families through education and community-based work. She has taught across elementary, middle, and high school settings and previously served as a learning specialist. Audrey holds dual master’s degrees in Elementary Education and K–12 Special Education and brings a strong understanding of how children learn, grow, and build confidence.
Audrey brings extensive nonprofit leadership and board experience to Arts For Life. She has held fundraising and development roles within nonprofit organizations and has served as a board member for several nonprofits, including the Salem College Alumnae Board, Teen Health Connection, and The Junior League of Charlotte. Her experience includes event management, strategic planning, fundraising, and program development.
Audrey is especially drawn to Arts For Life’s mission and believes in the power of the arts to bring comfort, connection, and joy to children facing medical challenges. She lives in Waxhaw, North Carolina with her husband Chris, and their two daughters, Kennedy and Charlotte, and is honored to support Arts For Life and the families it serves.
Brittany Lins Peter is a Partner at Alexander Ricks PLLC, where she specializes in land use, zoning, and governmental relations. A graduate of Furman University with a B.S. in Environmental Science, Brittany earned her J.D. from the University of South Carolina School of Law.
Brittany’s commitment to Arts For Life is rooted in her belief that every child deserves the opportunity to find joy and healing through creativity. She has witnessed the transformative power of art firsthand—both through the innocent wonder of her young daughter, Gemma, and through her uncle, who discovered a passion for painting at age 70 while recovering from heart complications.
A resident of Charlotte, Brittany balances her legal career with a busy home life alongside her husband, Mike, their daughter, and their energetic Australian Shepherd, Fitz. When she isn't navigating legal complexities or chasing her family around, she enjoys her book club, relaxing by the pool, or sharing a glass of wine with friends.
Lauren first became involved with Arts For Life in 2010 as a visual arts intern at Brenner Children’s Hospital. She continued to volunteer as an arts instructor until 2014, when she helped to expand Arts For Life’s programming as the program coordinator in the outpatient clinic. She remained passionate about Arts for Life’s mission, even while living out of state. She returned as a volunteer at Duke Children’s Hospital in Durham in 2019-2020 and again at Mission Children’s Hospital in Asheville, her new home, in 2025.
Lauren studied printmaking and psychology at UNCG and received her master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling from Wake Forest University. She owned and operated a burger stand that went viral in NYC from 2016-2020. Currently she helps develop programming and operations for organizations and companies focused on creating meaning and change, and is the operations manager for an education nonprofit called the Mill Institute. She continues her own practice as a process artist, her primary mediums being printmaking and ceramics.
Toshkova Fine Art Gallery + Advisory (TFA Gallery + Advisory) Founder Irina Toshkova has spent the past 15 years forging connections between art enthusiasts and the talents behind the works that they admire. Irina brings expert knowledge in contemporary art and an extensive network of artists as an advisor to foundations, corporations, architects, and developers in Charlotte and beyond.
TFA Gallery + Advisory is a thriving firm working to fill a significant need in today’s art market for a client-oriented combination of deep market knowledge and relationships with artists. Catering to a wide range of art enthusiasts, TFA provides a comprehensive range of services from private individual collectors to established institutions.