Speaker

Amanda Austin

Amanda Austin

Transforming organizations through improvisation, active listening, and inclusive leadership.

Dallas, Texas, United States

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Amanda thrives at the intersection of comedy and business. She's currently the Director of Human Resources and People Experience at Dialexa, an IBM Company. She believes the vulnerability required to improvise and create something together on stage as a team can be translated to a professional group of any size. She uses the philosophy of improvisation and the power of "Yes, And" as a catalyst for positive change within an organization. Her active listening approach to coaching focuses on teaching individuals and teams the difference between listening to respond and listening to understand. Amanda has extensive experience speaking to groups as small as 10 and as large as 10,000.

Amanda was the Founder/CEO of Dallas Comedy House (2009-2020), where she oversaw day to day operations of DCH. She was the founder and Executive Producer of the Dallas Comedy Festival (2009-2019). She's the Co-founder of ComedyHouse, a professional training and coaching service, and the co-author of the REALway® leadership training program.

Amanda received her Bachelor of Science in Journalism and a Minor in Business Administration from Texas A&M University. She completed her Masters in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Harvard University in May 2024.She earned her Graduate Certificate in Organizational Behavior from Harvard University and a Certificate in Building a Diverse and Inclusive Workplace from Cornell. Amanda served as an Adjunct Professor as the Designer in Residence for the SMU Masters of Design and Innovation Program for the Fall 2021 Semester. She's a graduate of the 2018 Leadership Dallas Cohort with the Dallas Regional Chamber, where she continued her commitment as the Leadership Consultant for 2019-2020.

Amanda is a member of the 2025 Leadership Texas cohort. She's on the Board of Directors for Jubilee Community Center. Amanda is a 2020 Tory Burch Foundation Fellow. She's the recipient of the 2020 Arts and Culture Award from the Asian Chamber of Texas and was previously awarded the Dallas Business Journal's Women in Business Award and Best Theater Director by the Dallas Observer. Amanda served as the Marketing Chair of the Executive Committee for the AT&T Performing Arts Center Auxiliary Board, a Board Member of the Deep Ellum Foundation as well as an inaugural Board Member for Fearless Dallas.

Area of Expertise

  • Arts
  • Business & Management
  • Humanities & Social Sciences
  • Real Estate & Architecture

Topics

  • Organizational psychology
  • I/O Psychology
  • Organizational Culture
  • Organizational Training
  • Organizational Performance
  • Leadership Agility
  • Leadership Coaching
  • Improvisation Theater
  • Agile Enterprise Transformation Initiatives Leaderships
  • Female Leadership
  • Inclusive Leadership
  • Everything I Needed to Know About Life I Learned in Improv
  • Improv comedy
  • Storytelling

Independent Energy Human Resources Association (IEHRA)-Annual Conference Upcoming

September 2025 Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Lead Innovation Day 2025 Sessionize Event Upcoming

May 2025 Paris, France

Region 9 Education Leadership Conference

October 2024 Fort Worth, Texas, United States

WRISE Leadership Forum

October 2024 Washington, Washington, D.C., United States

Pattison Annual Sales and Operations Conference

April 2024 Arlington, Texas, United States

WRISE Leadership Forum

October 2023 Minneota, Minnesota, United States

Independent Energy Human Resources Association (IEHRA) Annual Conference

September 2023 Chicago, Illinois, United States

AGILE Cambridge

September 2023 Cambridge, United Kingdom

GCPA Empowering Women Leadership Conference

November 2022 Austin, Texas, United States

Texas Associcaiton of School Administrators Conference

June 2022 Round Rock, Texas, United States

Amanda Austin

Transforming organizations through improvisation, active listening, and inclusive leadership.

Dallas, Texas, United States

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