Jo Benson is a 1983 graduate of Delaware Valley High School. Among her many high school activities, she was a four-year starter for the girls' field hockey and softball teams, and was a recipient of the Michael F. Doty Memorial Scholarship. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in 1987 in art and history from Bloomsburg University where she was a member of the National Honor Society and president of the student art association. She won that university's Director's Award for Fine Arts Achievement. In 1988 she was graduated magna cum laude from Bloomsburg University with a master of arts degree and taught graphics, photography and art history to undergraduates while a graduate assistant. She was employed by world-renown concert pianist Claudio Arrau as art restorer, conservation framer and document preserver for his distinguished museum and private art collection. 

She owns and operates Western Stage Props, a leading company in western arts equipment which has provided technical knowledge and materials to numerous motion pictures, television, stage and live action shows. She has worked with countless celebrities including Roy Rogers, James Garner, academy award winners Sir Anthony Hopkins, Ben Johnson, Ernest Borgnine, Jodie Foster, Halle Barry, and Clint Eastwood. Her expertise in props and their usage has brought her on the set of major films both in Hollywood and on location. She has been a member of the National Stuntmen’s Association (American and Canadian) Safety Council, a voting member of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. She was the national director and one of the founding members of the Wild West Arts Club from 1990 to 2007. She received the Will Rogers award in 2002 and was named to the Old West Living History Foundation Hall of Fame in 2003 and was selected as one of the Grand Marshals in the annual Will Rogers Days Parade in Oklahoma in 2005.