Roberta Nole, MA, PT, CPed, owner and founder of Middlebury, Connecticut-based Stride, Stride Physical Therapy & Pedorthic Center, and Nolaro24, has been named the Waterbury County, Connecticut, Entrepreneur of the Year. According to the area’s Chamber of Commerce Small Business Council, honorees demonstrate a commitment to small business development in the Waterbury area, as well as success and excellence in the marketplace.
Nole launched Stride, an orthotic manufacturing center, in 1998. She opened Stride Physical Therapy & Pedorthic Center five years later. As a result of her research in the field of foot biomechanics, Nole established and patented a foot classification method that recognizes 24 congenitally occurring foot types and six major sub-classifications into which the 24 foot types fall. As a result of this research, in 2008 she formed Nolaro24, a manufacturer and distributor of an alternative to custom foot orthotics based on her clinical foot classification model.