Nicole Zaino, Research Scientist at LUCI, has been named a 2025 Future Leader by Mobility Management.
To become a Future Leader, an individual is nominated by their peers. The candidate must be a high-performing employee who is 40 years of age or younger, a passionate worker who knows how to put vision into action, and an advocate for seniors, and the committed professionals who ensure their well-being.
Zaino sat down with Mobility Management to share what drew her to the Complex Rehab Technology (CRT) industry, the biggest leadership lessons she has learned, her thoughts on the future of CRT, and much more. To learn more about the Future Leaders Awards program, visit https://futureleaders.wtwhmedia.com/.
MM: What drew you to the complex rehab technology (CRT) industry?
Zaino: I was first drawn to the CRT industry from my lived experiences as someone with a disability. I saw personally the impact that assistive technology had on my life and independence. I have seen this both in my everyday life and in my athletic pursuits as an elite para Nordic athlete. I have always been curious, asking questions, and loved engineering. During my Ph.D. studies, my focus on assistive technology narrowed to Complex Rehab Technology specifically.
MM: What’s your biggest leadership lesson learned since starting to serve this industry?
Zaino: I have learned that just because something works or is exciting doesn’t mean it meets the needs of the end user/customer. We need to stay critical of our work and focus on how we can continue to evolve and improve as a field.
MM: If you could change one thing with an eye toward the future of the CRT industry, what would it be?
Zaino: I hope to have more collaboration and focus on standards to allow technology across the field to work together, and work with consumer technologies, to better serve and integrate into end users’ lives.
MM: In one word, how would you describe the future of CRT?
Zaino: Hope.
MM: If you had a crystal ball, what do you think will impact the CRT industry now and into 2026?
Zaino: The CRT industry is undergoing transformative change driven by new technologies. By 2026, the industry will be defined by software-defined devices with over-the-air updates, open development platforms accelerating research translation, and new care models focused on long-term user success — fundamentally transforming how mobility technology serves the millions of people who deserve better than the current distributor system can provide.
MM: In your opinion, what qualities must all Future Leaders possess?
Zaino: Listen to the right people. Listen to the end users, the clinicians, the care teams, and to the engineers.
MM: If you could give advice to yourself looking back to your first day in the CRT industry, what would it be and why?
Zaino: In the beginning, I was very focused on science and did not always include the proper stakeholders that really matter into the entire conversation or would let clinicians or caregivers talk for the end users. I would tell myself to keep the end user involved throughout the entire design process and be flexible to take the feedback and integrate it back into the product as you iterate. We are all here to provide the best technology for each user and each user is an individual so question the status quo.
