Dechen has an M.A. in Tibetan Studies from the Central University for Nationalities in Beijing and an M.A. in Anthropology from the University of California at Berkeley. She worked for two years at the East Asian Library at UC Berkeley, where she learned skills in cataloguing, reference service, and collection development. She also instructed college-level Chinese language classes in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at UC Berkeley. For the past eight years, she worked for various insurance companies as Office Manager in charge of daily office operation, staff supervision, compliance issues, and account receivables.

With her tri-lingual fluency in Tibetan, Chinese and English, as well as academic training in Tibetan Studies and years of work experience as Office Manager, Dechen is well prepared for her current work at BDRC as Director of Administration to direct and coordinate the organization's operations and communications.