ElIndeNews.com

Shaking President Barack Obama's hand isn't the only exciting thing that has happened to Dana Islas in the past two months. She also received the 2008 Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching, had a baby girl and moved to a new house.

"It's been like a whirlwind," Islas says. "I mean, [they're] all wonderful things. I feel very fortunate."

Islas, who has been a kindergarten teacher at Pueblo Gardens Elementary School for seven years, received the award in early January for her work in teaching math. The award was administered in Washington, D.C., by the National Science Foundation on behalf of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Jonathan Peck has his long, dread-locked hair pulled back as he struts about the Tucson Urban League Campus. His assistant's pen is scrawling rapidly across a notepad, adding to a to-do list as Peck rattles off new plans: a new fence, an organic garden, an updated sand-volleyball court and an outdoor mural.

The atypical new chief executive officer sports black-framed sunglasses and a red T-shirt with black work-out pants.

Peck, 39, is the new president and CEO of the Tucson Urban League. Though he has only been in Tucson since December 2009, he is busy planning changes and improvements on how the Urban League can best serve Tucson's communities.

Borderlands Theater's new show "Between Pancho Villa and a Naked Woman" opens Feb. 18.

The story is a glimpse into the life of the infamous Pancho Villa. He struggles with his primal macho instincts and his desire to be loved by a liberated woman in contemporary Mexican society. "Between Pancho Villa and a Naked Woman" uses humor as a critical tool that reflects on gender roles and feminist issues.

The performance begins at 8 p.m. and runs until March 7. "Between Pancho Villa and a Naked Woman" will play at Zuzi's Theater, 783 N. Fifth Ave.

For more information and ticket pricing, visit www.borderlandstheater.org or call (520) 882-7406.

The lights are off. Tall aluminum cabinets sit cracked open, teeming with brushes, markers and paper. Tubes of paint stand on tabletops, their caps screwed on tight. Folding chairs, stacked up like bricks, leave the two collapsible tables to stand alone in the middle of the floor.

The Art In Reality classroom, just weeks ago a mecca for artistic teens, is now vacant

AIR is a free program within the City’s Parks and Recreation Department that offers a variety of visual and performing arts classes to teens, ages 13 to 21. Opportunities range from aerosol art, to DJ School, to fashion.