Ugen was born in Amdo Province, Northeastern Tibet, to a nomadic family. In 2002, at the age of five, he fled to India. He completed his schooling at a Tibetan Children’s Village school, a community for Tibetan orphans and refugees founded by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Social Work from St. Joseph’s University in Bangalore and a master’s degree from the University of Delhi. During his studies, he worked with various NGOs on juvenile justice, homelessness, mental health, human rights, and NGO management issues. After graduating, he became a Social Project Manager at a nonprofit in Jaipur, the capital city of Rajasthan, a northwestern state of India. He joined SINI as the manager of the Sarnath campus in 2022. In his free time, he enjoys reading, volunteering, and hiking.