Amanda Austin
Transforming organizations through improvisation, active listening, and inclusive leadership.
Dallas, Texas, United States
Actions
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
Topics
Lead Innovation Day 2025 Sessionize Event Upcoming
Region 9 Education Leadership Conference
Pattison Annual Sales and Operations Conference
Please note that Sessionize is not responsible for the accuracy or validity of the data provided by speakers. If you suspect this profile to be fake or spam, please let us know.
Jump to top