Donny Daughenbaugh’s Stories, Lessons & Insights

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Donny Daughenbaugh. Check out our conversation below.

Hi Donny, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: Are you walking a path—or wandering?
I’m now walking a COMPLETELY different path than I was last year. In May 2024 I got a call from a fellow board member for a Veteran service agency I helped start 10 years ago. He said that a counseling agency with 2 office locations was looking for a new CEO and thought I might be a good fit. I’d spent 14 years in the Veteran nonprofit space and felt it was time for something new. I applied and met with a board member. They wanted to “feel me out” before recommending me to the full board and the hiring committee. It went great, so great that after I interviewed with the board and the committee, they told me when the interview ended that I was 1 of 4 finalists for the position and I was the 2nd to reach this point. They told me that they saw no need to interview the others and the job was mine if I wanted it. I started in November 2024 and I’m writing this response as I near my 1-year mark. I’ve put my heart into this role and this agency, and the team feels it. Our fundraising is up, our grant acceptance is up, our team morale and office environment is better than it’s ever been and I’m so grateful to see and hear the impact of me joining the team and the changes I’m making now. It’s awesome.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Donny Daughenbaugh. I’m a super proud dad to 3 amazing kids and 1 son-in-law. I’m blessed to be married to my best friend of 23 years, my wife Sarah. She’s been with me through my injury in the Marine Corps during a deployment to Iraq. My ongoing recovery, birth of our kids, a 1,000 mile move and recently my job change. She’s my rock and my confidant. I’m a Veteran of the Marine Corps and nonprofit professional. I now lead an amazing team of counselors and administrative team for a Houston based counseling agency called Innovative Alternatives. This agency has been changing lives and saving families for 36 years and my plans for this agency are to keep going up and out. We’re expanding our team, we’re enriching our mission fulfilment and we’re rescuing people who are drowning in trauma. We provide counseling services traditionally and we’re also a premier counseling agency for victims of crime in the state of Texas.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
When I was a child, we grew up poor. Both parents left school during middle school, and my oldest brother was born when my mom was only 13! Both of my parents tried their best but dealt with drug and alcohol addiction and the strain that put on my brothers, sisters and I is still felt. My childhood showed me how life SHOULDN’T be. We dealt with parents fighting through addiction to drugs and alcohol, we saw people doing drugs in our home, we moved a lot and even had someone who was wronged attempt to burn our house down. We got state assistance and again, even though our parents tried their best once both got past their addictions, the struggle was constant. I joined the Marine Corps to get out of Des Moines where I lived and once, I was injured, I began working in the Veteran nonprofit space. From there I found the time while traveling to earn my AA, BS and master’s degree. Mostly focused on business and leadership. I was considered for the role I’m in now because of that M.S. degree and I didn’t even want to start on it. I was approached about a scholarship for Veterans and my wife, and I decided I should apply. My decision to pursue my education while juggling life changed me. It set me up to make a future better than anything I experienced in my past. There is NO interest in a Ph.D., but I am now a continual learner in every other way. Your past can impact your future, but it doesn’t define it. Anything bad that happened to someone should be a hurdle they jump over. If they make it a roadblock, that is self-inflicted.

If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
My younger self (and my twin brother & younger brother / sister) would hear me tell us that things will get better. The hardships, the dangers, the abuse and the memories we’ve suppressed won’t stop us from living life and being successful.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes and no. My wife Sarah asks me all the time why I say yes to helping people all the time. I really do, help people all the time. There’s a little guilt associated with me saying that sometimes when I say yes, almost like yes is an auto-programmed response when someone asks me for help, because I second guess myself or sometimes wish I’d said no. I’m a habitual “busy body” and because of my love to fix things, build things and help people, it’s not unusual for me to be working on a project for my HOA, painting someone’s doors, fixing a car or God knows what other types of things I’ve done in my community. I do love the feeling of accomplishment from saving a friend, neighbor or anyone who asks a little money or giving them a sense of security.

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I’ve thought about this question a lot. Obviously, I have a bullet near my brain that causes problems for me and if someday soon it shifted, caused a serious medical issue or something like that, my time would be over. My time, anyone’s time can be over tomorrow, and we’ll never know until it happens. When I’m gone, I hope that my wife and kids hear stories about how I saved someone from being evicted or I nominated them for a home, and it changed their lives. I hope people see the lives I’m improved through charitable means and physical help and that inspires them to give more of themselves to “live like Donny did”. When I’m gone, I hope my kids ALWAYS tell their kids about how much love I had for them and how they were always made to feel like they were a top priority of mine. My goal in life is to help make my kids better than I ever was and by that legacy, I’ll never really be gone. When I’m gone, I hope my wife knows that whatever took me from her, that I fought with every fiber of my being to live, to survive, to stay alive for her and my kids. I’ll never leave this world without a fight that would inspire Zeus.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.innovativealternatives.org
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donald-daughenbaugh/
• Twitter: @DonnyDaughenbau
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/donny.daughenbaugh