After a college presidency stint in North Carolina, Gloria Tinubu is back in Atlanta and as busy as ever doing much of the community work she did before.

She has been under the radar relative to her previous more high-profile roles as a city councilwoman and two-time Atlanta mayoral candidate.

JOHNNY CRAWFORD/AJC (ENLARGE)

Gloria Tinubu (left) talks with Valena Henderson at her home in Mechanicsville. Tinubu, a former Atlanta councilwoman, now works to help people achieve home ownership.\uFEFF

Previous stories in this series: Ex-MARTA chief: San Francisco job 'totally different'  Ex-Tech player tackles new career  Point person on city's child murders remains connected  Former Gold Club Diva's attention is on Amore         More metro stories

Tinubu, who lost in 2001 to Shirley Franklin in a three-way race for Atlanta mayor, couldn't be happier to be back.

"It's wonderful," Tinubu said. "I missed it terribly. You don't realize what you have until you leave it."

She returned in 2005 after a year and a half at the helm of Barber-Scotia College, a historically black college in Concord, N.C., outside Charlotte.

The Clemson University-educated economist said she and the college's Board of Trustees couldn't agree on how to best turn around the accreditation-troubled school. "I was there without my family, so it was an easy decision to come back here," said Tinubu, a married mother of four and grandmother of 2-year-old Adewole Tinubu.

Little Adewole came along in early 2006, during a time Tinubu was trying to figure out how she wanted to spend the rest of her life.

"I spent that time grandmothering intensely," said Tinubu, 55, of southeast Atlanta. "It was such a great joy to witness his birth and to be there."

She eventually reconnected with her love for community work that makes a difference in the lives of those outside the mainstream.

"That's what gets me fired up, whether I get paid or not," said Tinubu, who of late has been fighting to protect funding for the Task Force for the Homeless. She's a board member. "So to come back and be able to do that is so fulfilling to me."

In 2006, she founded the Bromell Tinubu Group, a community economic consulting firm, and later took on the task of helping the Atlanta Community Economic Development Corp. grow. She helped found its predecessor, Atlanta Cooperative Development Corp., in 1996.

ACE Development helps low-income families and individuals with home ownership, business development and post-secondary education. With offices in the John C. Burdine Center in southeast Atlanta, ACE has helped 19 clients into homes since October by providing down payment help and other assistance via federal grants and money from the city of Atlanta's Housing Bureau and the Atlanta Housing Authority.

It also offers housing consulting and foreclosure prevention and is poised to launch a community development venture capital fund to help existing and new businesses and spur job creation.

Atlanta City Councilwoman Joyce Sheperd says Tinubu's work comes as no surprise.

"What she does is always about the community and we're very supportive of her," Sheperd said.

That was true even during her 18 years teaching economics at Spelman College.

"When I was there, I was always in the community doing community work," said Tinubu, who in 2003 was selected to lead Florida's Bethune-Cookman College, a historically black college in Daytona Beach, until contract negotiations fell through. "That's where my heart is. It just is."

Tinubu studied theater at Howard University, then went on to earn a master's degree in agricultural economics and a doctorate in applied economics at Clemson.

Her intent was to return to her Plantersville, S.C., hometown and make a difference. She ended up in Atlanta instead.

"Part of what I've always regretted was that I didn't get back to South Carolina," Tinubu said. "But I'm always reminded of what Booker T. Washington said: '[Cast down] your bucket where you are.' "

Tinubu reached for the sky in 1997 and again seven years ago by seeking to become the first female and African-American woman to become Atlanta mayor. She came in third both times but harbors no hard feelings.

"Are you kidding? I was over that after it happened," said Tinubu, who represented the city's council District 12 for four years beginning in 1994. "I don't take it personally. It wasn't really a loss at all. There's a victory in everything you do."

She praised Franklin's spunk, tenacity and leadership, adding, "Of course, things aren't perfect but they never are."

Her thoughts about re-entering politics?

"If you had asked that three or four years ago I would have said, 'No way. Not interested.' " Tinubu said. "People keep asking me about it. I'm keeping my options open, but I have no immediate plans to run for any office."

• "What ever happened to ..." is a weekly feature catching up with people and issues in the news. Are you wondering about the fate or fortune of former newsmakers? Tell us who and e-mail dgibson@ajc.com. Please put "whatever happened to" in the reference line.