Technical Advisor

Donna Rae Faulkner is an experienced farmer, educator, and community facilitator who owns and operates Oceanside Farms with her husband, Don McNamara. She holds degrees from the University of Rhode Island and Cambridge College and numerous agriculture-related certificates through programs with the State of Alaska. Donna Rae served as an educational consultant with Nexus Education Services and as a team member with the Small Stones Network where she designed and facilitated dynamic, empowering workshops on community engagement, youth leadership, team building, and early childhood education across the state of Alaska. Since 2017, Donna Rae has been supporting collaborative marketing of farm products, including serving as a member of the Alaska Food Hub Advisory Council. In her role with the Alaska Food Hub, she supported the development of an online marketplace of locally grown, harvested, and produced foods and crafts. The Alaska Food Hub is now known for its building of community, support of preservation of agricultural lands, lowering carbon food prints through decreasing food miles, and strengthening local economies. 

Donna Rae has worked with our region’s small farms since 2015 to develop and deliver culturally-sensitive technical training workshops focused on selling, marketing, and sales.  Workshop topics have included safe handling of produce, handling, and packaging your produce for marketing attractiveness, and marketing models that work for Alaska’s rural communities. She currently serves as the technical advisor for the development of the Qik’rtaq Food Hub and the Alutiiq Grown Program.

Learn more about Oceanside Farms.