Karina Trkulja

Karina Trkulja has served as the Executive Director of the Edmonton Junior Tennis Society (EJTS), now the Edmonton Tennis Community (ETC), for the past eight years.

During this time, she has successfully led the organization's growth in revenue, community engagement, and participation. She was instrumental in developing a strategic plan for the organization, and has launched a number of innovative programs, including two flagship initiatives - TENNISfest (TPA Innovation Award Winner) and Empower Her - both designed to expand access to tennis and inspire community involvement.

Over the past two years, Karina managed implementation of the merger of EJTS with Tennis Edmonton Association (TEA) to form ETC, creating a grassroots tennis organization which embraces all ages and has become recognized as a benchmark for community tennis in Canada. Under her leadership, ETC has expanded its reach through partnerships with Tennis Alberta, Tennis Canada, and Jumpstart Charities, with a focus on reducing barriers to participation and increasing engagement among girls and underrepresented groups in sport.

Karina holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Alberta and spent over a decade as an entrepreneur (owning three franchises of Great Canadian Dollar Stores), and involved in international marketing for Eleven Engineering. During that period, she also supported her sister’s journey through high performance tennis to become captain of the U of A’s Pandas tennis team and a professional coach, before starting a family and raising two daughters who are also highly-accomplished young tennis players. 

Karina regularly contributes to the leadership development of female coaches across Canada and her vision is to build a thriving community where tennis is not only played but celebrated as a lifelong activity that fosters confidence, teamwork, and leadership - on and off the court.