Anna-Karina Tabunar

Anna-Karina Tabunar

Ottawa, ON

Anna-Karina Tabunar is an award-winning communicator, strategist and disability advocate. She is a trusted advisor to senior leaders on issues and crisis management, stakeholder engagement and strategic communications. Through her independent consulting agency, Talent Untapped Group, Anna-Karina serves a range of clients in multiple sectors.

Before launching her consultancy, Anna-Karina worked in Canadian broadcasting and corporate communications. As a journalist she filed stories for CBC, CTV and CNN. She hosted the award-winning program Canada in Perspective, the country’s first current affairs television series exploring issues surrounding disability. She produced and directed the acclaimed documentary film Talent Untapped about the value of hiring and developing people with disabilities.

As a communications executive, Anna-Karina has worked with teams across Canada and internationally to lead internal communications and crisis and reputation management. Her work has been recognized by the International Association of Business Communicators, the Canadian Screen Academy and Citizen Advocacy. She was named Top 100 Most Influential Filipinas by the global Filipina Women’s Network in 2017.

Anna-Karina has a deep understanding of episodic and invisible disabilities from her research and lived experience. Her research on episodic disabilities – commissioned by Accessibility Standards Canada – helped inform Canada’s new employment accessibility standard. She recently completed a Master’s degree, studying invisible disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Anna-Karina manages myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) resulting from a rare variant of Guillain-Barré syndrome.

BOARD MEMBERSHIPS AND COMMITTEE EXPERIENCE

  • Board Member and Chair of Communications and Marketing Committee, Disability Screen Office (2023–present)
  • Corporate Secretary, Member of Governance and Leadership Committee, Vanier Institute of the Family (2019–present)
  • Board Member, Membership Representative, AMI TV (2009–2011)

EDUCATION AND CREDENTIALS

  • MA (Accessibility and Disability Inclusion), Carleton University (2023)
  • BA (Communications and Journalism), Concordia University (1991)

Updated June 10, 2025