About the Author & Host

Headshot of Erika Bud sitting in a chair. She has long, straight brown hair wears a beaded necklace, and is wearing a red, tan, and black top.

About the Author & Podcast Host

Meet Erika Bud, the author of the Travel Rangers children’s book series and host of the Planes, Trains, & Kids Abroad podcast. 

From the age of 18, Erika knew that she wanted to help people.  She started volunteering as a way of giving back but knew she wanted to make a career of helping people as well.  Shortly after graduating from college, she left her career as a Director of Business Administration to become a Los Angeles Police officer.  Her goal was to become a detective and help people that way.  Unfortunately, feeling like her life was on the line every day was too much for her so this career did not blossom as she hoped it would.  She continued to volunteer while she worked on finding another way to help others.  It took her much longer than she had hoped but finally, Erika has found her calling as a children’s book author.

International travel is Erika’s passion. She started traveling overseas when she was 18 years old, working as an Au Pair. Since then, Erika has traveled to over thirty countries, living in both Spain and Australia. She loves embracing new cultures—eating new foods, learning about the history of the country, seeing remarkable architecture and sites, and getting to know interesting people. Erika shares this passion with her son, Hayden, who already had two stamps in his passport by the age of five and can’t wait to go to the next country.

 

So how is Erika helping others, you may ask?  Through the Travel Rangers children’s book series and Planes, Trains, & Kids Abroad travel podcast, Erika hopes to ignite a passion for travel abroad in both children and adults. She wants to teach them about the fascinating cultures throughout the world and the many diverse perspectives shared by the wonderful people of this world that make it such an amazing place to live.  Erika wholeheartedly believes that being exposed to different cultures and perspectives will help make our world a more accepting and happier place to live.  Erika dreams of getting her books and podcast in front of as many children and parents as possible to try and make a difference in this world.