In addition to her position at Rutgers, Zurlo is a research affiliate with the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research and the Huamin Research Center. Before pursuing a career in social work education, Zurlo spent more than two decades in the business world, working for such corporations as FTC Communications, MCI WorldCom and Qwest Communications. Her current work combines her expertise in finance and social work, focusing on qualitative and quantitative research with older adults and retirement-related topics that include financial well-being, health, life course development and intergenerational issues.