Our Company
About
The people
Our team
The Savanna Dream Safaris team is dedicated to the preservation of wild Africa. Our mission is to enable as many people as possible to experience its wildlife, habitat and cultures. We believe that anyone who goes on safari with us will naturally fall in love with this land and its wonders … and they will want to see it conserved and sustained as much we do.
“If there were one more thing I could do, it would be to go on safari once again.” – Karen Blixen
Co-Founder
Jerri Hatch
Jerri Hatch is an avid traveler with an enthusiastic focus on Africa. She has always been enamored with wildlife, but the African variety has held a special place in her heart since early childhood. She religiously watched Wild Kingdom and similar programs as a youngster, but hailing from the Chicago area she mistakenly assumed that Africa was too far away and out of reach. Her first visit to the continent was in 2003, when she was married to her husband Larry in one of South Africa’s premier wildlife reserves. That experience, and the safari honeymoon that followed, altered the course of her life. She caught the “Africa bug” and she now visits the continent multiple times each year.
Jerri is engaged in a variety of conservation and humanitarian initiatives in East Africa. She raised funds for and oversaw the construction of a library and community center in the Rwandan village of Sunzu, improving the quality of life of its citizens and expanding educational and life opportunities for its youth. She is also a longtime supporter of both the African Wildlife Foundation and the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. Like Jerri, both organizations are dedicated to the protection of animals and their habitat.
Jerri has traveled extensively in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Namibia, Botswana and South Africa over the past 20 years. Her experience encompasses the full range of accommodations, from luxury camps to mid-range lodges to “roughing it.” She has the knowledge to design a safari to fit any taste and budget.
Jerri resides in Bethesda, Maryland, with her husband Larry.
Co-Founder
Billy Dodson
Billy Dodson is a retired Naval Officer who first visited East Africa on a mountain climbing trip in 2001. His first time in the field as a photographer was in 2005, and he has since returned dozens of times for the purpose of photographing the continent’s wildlife, landscapes and cultures. His work has been published in magazines, newspapers, posters and calendars around the world. His images have also been displayed in galleries around the world, most recently in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.
Because the primary purpose of his work is to advance the cause of wildlife conservation, he donates his images to the African Wildlife Foundation and a number of similar organizations. He is also a supporter of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, a non-profit organization that is deeply committed to preserving and expanding giraffe habitat throughout Africa.
Billy has written many articles about wildlife conservation and served as a featured speaker at several educational events. He also delivered remarks at the Global March for elephants and rhinos in both San Francisco and Washington, DC. His most recent book is From Desert to Desert: A Journey Through the Heart of Southern Africa.
He resides in Williamsburg, Virginia, with his wife Cynthia.
“If this is not Eden, then this is where God has hidden the memory of it.” – Susannah Cord