A Kamehameha Schools graduate, Benham began her teaching career in 1978 teaching grades K–12 in California, Texas and Hawaiʻi (Kaiser High School and Kamehameha Schools). She earned her doctoral degree from UH Mānoa in 1992 and joined the College of Education faculty at Michigan State University in 1993. Among her notable accomplishments, Benham was the lead author of the White House Paper on the Tribal Colleges and Universities: A Trust Responsibility (2004) submitted to the U.S. President’s Advisory Board on Tribal Colleges and Universities. She is author, co-author, editor of 5 books and numerous published articles, book chapters and technical reports.