Executive: Brian Leaver, principal and senior vice president at Tandem Construction in Sarasota. Has overseen a host of projects in the region, including work at IMG Academy, Sarasota High School and Serendipity Country Club. Firm was founded in 1980 and has about 35 employees. Leaver has worked there since 2000.
Diversion: Leaver and his wife, Katherine, have been foster parents since 2009. They have fostered at least 25 kids, from newborns to toddlers, for a variety of short-term stays. On two occasions the couple went from fostering to adoption — with their daughter, Kate, who is now 7, and now with a 21-month-old girl. The couple also has two biological children, 16-year-old Hayes and 14-year-old Andrew.
Helpful heart: Katherine Leaver, 44, volunteered at Forty Carrots in Sarasota, a family center and preschool, when her biological children were younger. She talked to someone casually there about being a foster parent, which Leaver “thought was a more hands-on way” to help children in need.