Ocracoke Navigator is a service of Village Craftsmen on Howard Street. It is the result of a good old-fashioned family effort and is truly the combined effort of the entire Howard/Plaut family. Each member of our family has contributed and worked hard to complete this project. Stefen conceived of the idea one summer while he was visiting his family on the island and noticed many people using cell phones and tablets. Because he teaches computer science and is interested in Web design and emerging technology, Stefen decided to build a mobile Web app that would utilize interactive maps to guide visitors during their visit and also offer them the chance to delve deeper into the history of the island.
Stefen Howard, Web Developer: Stefen is a ninth generation Ocracoke native and a descendant of William Howard, the last colonial owner of Ocracoke Island. He grew up on Ocracoke in the 1970s and 1980s. He has a BA in Art from Guilford College and a Masters in Computer Science from UT Knoxville. He currently teaches Computer Science at Mars Hill University.
Snee Howard, Business Manager: Snee grew up in rural Appalachia where she attended a two room elementary school with a pot belly stove for heat and outhouses for restrooms. She has a BA in Art from Guilford College with a concentration in Photography. Snee and Stefen founded Over the Moon on British Cemetery Road in 1993.
Zoe Howard, Social Media Manager and Editor: Zoe, Stefen and Snee’s oldest child, is currently a college junior majoring in English and History. She enjoys traveling, watching musicals and reading 19th century British literature.
Eakin Howard, Photographer and Graphic Designer: Eakin, Stefen and Snee’s son, is currently a photojournalism student at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY. He enjoys photography, graphic design, and drawing. You may have seen him tending the birdhouse stand on Ocracoke in the summers of 2013 and 2014. You can see more of his photography at www.eakinhoward.com.
Philip Howard, Historical Consultant and Audio Tour Producer: Philip is Stefen’s father and the son of Lawton Howard, an Ocracoke icon. Lawton left the island in 1927 to seek employment in the Army Corps of Engineers so Philip grew up in Philadelphia, PA, but often visited Ocracoke with his parents as a child. He established what became the Village Craftsmen in the summer of 1970 and moved permanently to Ocracoke in 1972. He has a BA in Philosophy.
Marian Plaut, Editor: Snee’s mother, Marian, holds a BA in English from UC Berkeley and a Masters in Counseling from UNC Asheville. She and her husband raised four boys and a girl (Snee) on farms in the Appalachian mountains of West Virginia and North Carolina.
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