OCT NIBJ: Maggie Lyons: A leader in business and nonprofits

For Maggie Lyons, the route from the world of business into the nonprofit sphere was an indirect one.

Lyons grew up in Sandpoint and graduated from the University of Idaho with a degree in accounting.

“I practiced one year in public accounting and thought I had ruined my life,” she said with a laugh.

She went on to join Micron in the start-up phase. It was a “fun ride,” she said, but in time, she returned to North Idaho.

These days, as a certified public accountant with forensic accounting expertise and the president of Resolve Financial Group, Lyons specializes in bankruptcy, business reorganization, crisis management, sale of assets and distributions to creditors.

“I help people resolve their fights over money,” she said.

It was Lyons’ bankruptcy work that led her to one of her most impactful nonprofit projects.

In 2018, Lori Isenberg was charged with stealing $500,000 from the North Idaho Housing Coalition, a nonprofit that helped low-income people find affordable housing, where she worked as the director.

Isenberg later pleaded guilty to wire fraud and theft from a federal program. According to court records, she engaged in a scheme to submit false invoices and expenses for payment. These invoices were often submitted in the names of companies she set up in her daughter’s names.

Four of Isenberg’s daughters ultimately pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit program theft in connection with their mother’s offense.

Isenberg’s crimes made headlines, in part because she was later accused of murdering her husband, Larry Isenberg, around the time her embezzlement was exposed. She pleaded guilty to murder and is serving a life sentence.

But the situation wasn’t unique.

“It happens to a lot of companies and nonprofits that never get exposed,” Lyons said.

Lyons entered the picture in the wake of the crimes.

“Rarely are embezzled funds recovered and nonprofits lose their donors when the executive director steals from them,” she said.

But Isenberg had assets and, against all odds, the nonprofit survived and rebranded as Panhandle Affordable Housing Alliance.

After prayerful consideration, Lyons said she agreed to take the helm of the nonprofit, though she wasn’t sure why until the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

“I knew then why PAHA had survived,” she said.

Since then, PAHA has created the Miracle on Britton, a fee-simple, shared-equity neighborhood built through a certified deed restriction management program.  

The deed restrictions mean that the homes in the neighborhood are designated for a certain income, they must be owner occupied and a resale formula allows for wealth creation while keeping the homes attainable for future Kootenai County workers.

“Britton’s purpose is a blueprint,” Lyons said. “It’s scalable, it’s replicable and it doesn’t take a nonprofit to do it. I talked so much about it that I knew we had to prove it.”

The nonprofit has done just that. So far, 28 individuals and families have filled the neighborhood. Their jobs range from teachers, firefighters and police officers to health care workers and electricians.

The embezzlement scandal had another unexpected impact—bringing together Charity Reimagined, the nonprofit Lyons launched in 2018 to change the paradigm for helping people in need, and Press Christmas for All, which has supported Kootenai County residents in need since 1985.

Lyons said conversations with the Coeur d’Alene Press about PAHA rising from the ashes of embezzlement turned into discussions about the work of Charity Reimagined.

Since 2019, Christmas for All and Charity Reimagined have partnered to make more impactful changes in the lives of Kootenai County residents, raising funds to support auto repairs that help individuals keep their jobs and continue their education, medical care that restores both health and dignity, childcare needs for single parents attending North Idaho College and more.

Lyons said cooperation is what makes it all possible.

“We have incredible partnerships in our community with government agencies and nonprofits doing exceptional work,” she said. “I think Kootenai County is quite unique in that regard.”

    In this 2022 photo, Maggie Lyons speaks during the North Idaho Building Contractors Association meeting at The Best Western Plus Coeur d'Alene Inn.