Speaker

Amanda Austin

Amanda Austin

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

Dallas, Texas, United States

Actions

Amanda thrives at the intersection of improvisation and organizational psychology to help transform organizations. 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 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. She's currently a Senior Managing Consultant-HR Strategic Business Partner at IBM Consulting.

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 is an Adjunct Professor at the SMU Cox School of Business MBA program where she teaches a Management course: Organizational Change and Innovation by Design. 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 and a member of the 2025 Leadership Texas Cohort.

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

BA & Beyond 25 Sessionize Event Upcoming

May 2025

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 Minneapolis, 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

Actions

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