Amanda Johnstone

Amanda Johnstone is known as the founding CEO of Transhuman Inc. (also known as Social Health Innovations,Inc.), a mental health and Emotion AI technology company, founded in 2014.[1] Transhuman Inc. has head offices in Delaware, United States and Sydney, Australia.

Amanda founded Transhuman Inc. a mental health and Emotion AI technology company in 2014, with co-founders Dr Roy Sugarman, Nabil Barakat and former founder Oliver Rozynski.[2] Amanda is listed as an Inventor of multiple patents specific to mental health and Artificial intelligence.[3][4] Amanda is a shareholder and Social Impact Advisor to ESG Financial technology firm, ESGtech.[5][6]

In 2020 Amanda was awarded Startup Executive of the Year by The CEO Magazine and Maserati.[2] In 2019, she was named a Next Generation Leader by TIME and Rolex for her global leadership in suicide prevention, with the publication stating "She lost too many friends to suicide, now her app is saving lives."[7] This award was highlighted in Australian Federal Parliament by Bridget Archer MP.[8] In 2018 Amanda was highlighted in the International Women in Leadership Showcase by MYOB and Smart Company for International Women's Day.[9] In 2016 she was listed as one of the Top 50 Australian and New Zealand Women in Tech by Startup Daily.[10] In 2015 Amanda was a finalist in Forbes Under 30 Change the World Competition, in the Social Impact Category.

In 2019, Time (magazine) stated: "Nearly 20,000 people have flagged suicidal feelings to their loop, allowing their support network to rally around, and to date, Johnstone says no user of the app has taken their own life."[7]

In 2020 The CEO Magazine stated "Armed with influential thought-leadership skills and a tenacious drive to transform the role of technology, it is Amanda who is propelling the future wellbeing of the human race" and "Amanda Johnstone lost too many friends to suicide. Now she’s dedicated her life to helping prevent others from facing the same tragedy. As a pioneer in the emotion AI and mental wellness space, the Transhuman Founder and CEO uses state-of-the-art technology to positively benefit mental health, breaking boundaries no-one else has dared to face."[2]

In 2021, Thrive Global stated: Amanda continues to inspire and create solutions in spaces that seldom gets attention. Her impact extends beyond providing hope and lending voice to those that are voiceless, it closes the gaps for the most vulnerable among us.

Amanda has been featured by Time,[7] Thrive Global, 2GB,[11] France 24,[1] The Tech Tribune,[12] Anthill, Veja[13] The Examiner,[14][15] The CEO Magazine,[2] Billboard, The Irish News,[16] Opovo, The Daily Telegraph,[17] Radar Amazonico,[18] Stigma Podcast,[19] Cosmopolitan, Startup Daily,[20] The Online Mom,[21] Menzies Law,[22] Singularity University,[23] Fala, The Modern Woman Podcast,[24] Belfast Telegraph, Gazeta de Buenos Ayres,[25] The Farmer,[26] Momentum,[27] IWeek,[28] ICworld, Yahoo![29][30] and Women's Day.

Transhuman Inc's technologies include Be A Looper, a free mental health daily check-in app in 87 countries and Artificial intelligence in private Beta.[2][11] Nabil Barakat, the founder of Wamar International and Wamar Technologies is on the Board of directors and is a co-founder[31] The business is also backed by Michael Goldberg, Founder of The Sanctuary Byron Bay, world's leading rehabilitation facility,[32] alongside others including George Freney, Nathan Young, Jonathan Pease and Stereosonic co-founder Peter Raftopolous.[33]

Team at Transhuman Inc. have backgrounds including Apple Inc. NASA, Wamar Technologies, Google, General Electric, Royal Marines Club, Charles River Ventures, Ramsay Health Care, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and EXOS.[24][12]

Be A Looper addresses the social problem of self management of mental ill health, and the app allows users to monitor the wellbeing of up to five people they care about and be notified when it may be time to reach out. The concept is based on an unobtrusive check-in system where users can rate how their day is tracking on a scale between 1-10, with the option to pinpoint specific factors such as stress, sleep, or energy levels.[34] Be A Looper has been highlighted in 2020 by Singularity University in the 'Technologies of the Future' series.[23] In 2019 Transhuman Inc. was awarded second place in the Top Startups in Delaware list by The Tech Tribune.[12] In 2018 Be A Looper was one of five finalists in the "Oscars of the mobile industry",[32] the Global Mobile Award Worlds by GSMA in category Best Use of Mobile for Accessibility & Inclusion.[32][20] Be A Looper is a silver winner in the DrivenXDesign design awards.[35]

Born in Launceston, Tasmania, Amanda attended St Thomas Mores, Star of the Sea and Summerdale Primary Schools. She attended Prospect High School and Launceston College. At 17 years old, Amanda co-founded retail chain Sebachi[15] with Nick Marci, before moving into youth development as Australia's first Youth Development Officer in local government at the West Tamar Council alongside philanthropic roles in management, policy and strategy in suicide prevention at a youth suicide retreat in Tasmania.[7][15] Her advocacy work in child sexual abuse in Tasmania has been highlighted in thesis The Age of Consent: News, crime and public debate.

She later studied Computer Science at Curtin University for one semester, before dropping out due to the course content being outdated.[24] She is now an Industry Advisor to the University of Technology, Sydney for the Batchelor of Technology and Innovation, 2016 and Executive MBA, 2021 and an investor and mentor at The Tech Ready Women Academy.[36] In 2019 she returned to Launceston College as a keynote speaker at the Dux of the School ceremony.

Amanda is a keynote speaker[6][37] and has appeared on stage and in panels for organisations including Vocus Group in their Inspiring Women series on subject 'Combining Passion and Technology for a more Human World' in 2020.[38] For International Women's Day 2020 Amanda was a panelist for Women in Technology in an event and live podcast recording for WeWork and The Modern Woman.[24] She was a keynote presenter on the topic 'Pain is Best Shared'[39] with Dr Roy Sugarman for the CRIISP Virtual Business Summit.[40] In 2019 she gave the keynote address for Launceston College. She has been featured on the Stigma Podcast discussing 'How to use Technology to Stop Suicide'.[19] In 2018 she was a speaker at FutureFest Innovation Festival[14] and for Tech Ready Women as a Powerhouse Women in Technology panelist.

Amanda has contributed to Monaco-based luxury lifestyle website Haute Today since 2010 and New York based innovation website PSFK since 2015 on topics including technology, innovation, automobiles, design, travel and fashion. She writes thought leadership on topics including justice, leadership, ESG, social impact, ethics, human rights and technology on Magnify.[41]

She is the host of technology focused Clubhouse group "Talk Nerdy to Me[42]", a discussion hub for all things tech, robotics, space, AI, quantum everything, sustainability, XR, sci-fi, research, geek culture, health, drones, asteroid mining, CGI influencers, tranhumanism, blockchain, autonomous vehicles, gaming, IOT, e-commerce and ESG.[43]

Amanda is managed by Robert Joske Management.[44] She is represented to multiple professional speakers agencies.[45][46][47]

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