All Team Members

Benjamin Mauss

Born and raised on the midwest banks of the mighty Mississippi river, this lanky, lovable scamp has had a hard time sitting still since the first time he accidentally ran away from home at the age of four & 1/2 years old (making it shockingly far too!). Since then he has transformed his love for precarious perambulation into an endless fountain of exploration and learning that he shares with his many students in the classroom. From the world & universe at large to the self within, the expedition & discovery never ends. Mind & body movement, balance, bikes & boards, phat drum breaks, dancing barefoot, creating with barehands, hearty portions with plates full of color, beautiful humans, beasts & vegetation, and finding hilarity in absolutely everything are what this fella finds life most worth living for. While this will be his first year working with Global Works, he lived and taught in Spain for years and is looking forward to returning with a new collaborative mission in mind.


Where did you grow up?
Dubuque, Iowa

Where do you call home now?
New Orleans, Louisiana

Year started at Global Works?
2023

What’s your favorite part about leading trips?
Providing folks the experience of getting to know their own planet and species in profoundly new and thrilling ways.

What’s something you can’t live without while you are traveling?
Quarto set & pocket frisbee

Tell us about a favorite memory from a trip you have taken
First and foremost all the flora & fauna found followed by every morsel & drop of food + drink consumed along the way.

Where is your favorite place you have traveled to?
Impossible to answer, but probably Iceland, almost exclusively because it is the most otherworldly place I have ever experienced here on Earth.

Fun fact, special talent, or favorite memory
I often wake up already dancing.

What do you like to do in your free time?
So many different things. It’s hard to keep up with myself.

What languages do you speak?
English, Spanish, Rhythm & Groove.

If you had to give one piece of advice or words of encouragement to someone on their first travel experience, what would it be?
Welcome that which is different, embrace discomfort, & forever remember that we all have more in common than not.