OUR TEAM
FRED MUSHENDWA
FOUNDER & EXPERT SAFARI GUIDE
SUPER POWER:20/15 VISION & STORY-TELLING
SPIRIT ANIMAL: BLACK PANTHER
Fred has been honing his wildlife knowledge as a Expert Safari Guide for over 25 years. His career started in Mechanical Engineering. He is also an expert mechanic which really comes in handy if your out on one of his adventure safaris. It’s no surprise he has a soft spot for sports cars and motorcycles. That love is only outmatched by his passion for his homeland and the African Wildlife. He spent 20 of these formative years as the Lead Guide for JM Tours, a well known safari company in Tanzania. He was the go-to-guide for safaris, schools, and non-profits. He loves every opportunity to bring guests out, entertaining them, educating them, teaching what he loves or simply passing the time as the wildlife scenes play out.
Guests are constantly stunned by Africa’s beauty. His extensive knowledge on animal behaviors keeps everyone entertained. He is an excellent story teller with a gift for suspense and has the sharpest eyes to see what most cannot if you are lucky to go out on his fantastic game drives.
Fred’s other passion are dogs and conservation. He recently started a collaboration with K-9 units to protect Africa’s critically endangered animals. Fred is especially passionate about helping to protect his spirit animal, genus panthera. Which by the way, is the only animal that roars! So giving Big Cats a leg up is his personal imperative.
Fred heads up our LionShare Project for Black Panther Safaris, Ltd. which provides funding and support to Anti-Poaching projects around the country.
SUZANNE EASON
FOUNDER & CREATIVE DIRECTOR
SUPER POWER:MAKING PEOPLE FEEL AT HOME & GIRLPOWER
SPIRIT ANIMAL: LIONESS
In 1928, Theodore Earle Plumridge II, a Wall Street stock broker received a solid mahogany Elephant with Ivory Tusks as a wedding gift from his client. It stood in the foyer of his family home for more than 80 years. It was the source of exaggerated tales of his hunting safaris. The elephant belonged to Suzanne’s grandfather and now sits in her home in Connecticut. Suzanne believes it to be the totem of her lifelong fasciation for travel. She spent years living, travelling and working in various countries, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Switzerland, France, England, Ireland, Austria and now Tanzania. She speaks 4 languages, and is currently studying Swahili which she’ll admit is a tongue twister, but won’t give up. She always had a love of languages, beautiful environments, diverse cultures, and delicious cuisines. And now she can finally share her passion of discovery with her guests.
Suzanne spent 25 years building companies and brands for Fortune 500 companies. But she admits that nothing has felt so rewarding than giving life to this new endeavor that also services the needs of others. After Suzanne’s initial trip to Tanzania, she saw a gap in the funding for girls education. She was determined to find a way to serve this marginalized group of women. So, in 2019, she spent a year building Black Panther Safaris in secret, dreaming of a luxury company that also supports these girls. As a mother of two daughters, empowering girls is a personal imperative. Simply put, it changes the future of our Planet. These young girls dream for a better future. When you give them an opportunity for a better life they don’t just help themselves, they help their families, their community, and then our world. Creating Black Panther Safaris has been a dream come true forging luxury travel, conservation and education for girls together.
Suzanne heads up the Legacy Scholarship for Black Panther Safaris, Ltd, providing financial support to Maasai girls looking to stay in school and complete their A Levels. It’s the pebble in a pond.