Jim Koucherik - Board Treasurer (April 2012)
Jim Koucherik joined New Foundations Nonviolence Center in December 2007. Jim became a part of the organization after meeting another board member while both were visiting at one of the prison facilities. Jim found that he could become more involved in helping those who were incarcerated as well as others who were out of prison and trying to integrate themselves back into society.
Jim was born and raised in Leadville, CO. and attended schools there graduating in 1964. He attended St Thomas Seminary in Denver, and later went to Southern Colorado State College in Pueblo, CO graduating with an AAS in Engineering Technology in 1967. He worked as a surveyor until joining the U.S. Army in 1967. After serving two years in Vietnam as an Intelligence Analyst he was stationed at Fort Bragg, NC for 2 years and was discharged in 1971. He was hired by the Colorado Highway Department in 1972 and worked in the Geology Department for two years and later in the Bridge Inspection Unit. He assisted in development of the federally mandated bridge inspection program for the Colorado Department of Transportation. He inspected bridges for 5 years then became their database manager and served in that capacity for 30 years. He retired from CDOT in 2004. He currently works as a bookkeeper for La Voz Newspaper and has worked as a part timer for the paper for the past 21 years.
Jim started visiting incarcerated Vietnam Vets in 1976 while working with the Colorado Chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America. He visited one vet once a month for 11 years and gained invaluable knowledge into the workings of the prison system and the struggles faced by those that are incarcerated. He also learned about the many struggles and difficulties that women face in prison while maintaining his friendship with another friend until she was released into community corrections. He then helped her go through that experience and learned so much about the difficulties of being an ex-felon and the everyday fear of failing or being sent back into the system. That friendship led to many other contacts and currently he is working with a young lady that went into the prison system at the age of 16. He was given special permission to attend her graduation ceremony when she received her AA Degree in Business. That experience let him see and feel the tremendous self confidence and pride that was so evident in each graduate. He feels that instilling self confidence and pride in most inmates will equip them to be successful in their eventual return to society. “She has taught me the value of believing in ones self and how successful those feelings are in breaking the cycle of violence”.