After six months on the job, Durga Suresh-Menon has left the role as head of school at Marlborough-based New England Innovation Academy, with NEIA Co-founder Raymond Chang stepping into the role on an interim basis.Suresh-Menon came to NEIA after more than two decades at Wentworth Institute of Technology, having most recently served as the Boston-based college’s dean of the School of Computing and Data Science and dean of graduate education. Suresh-Menon did not respond to a LinkedIn message seeking comment on her departure.Durga Suresh-Menon, former head of school at New England Innovation Academy. PHOTO COURTESY OF NEW ENGLAND INNOVATION ACADEMYChang, Jane Du, and Jean Jones co-founded the school, which opened its doors in 2021. Chang is an experienced entrepreneur and the managing director of NXT Ventures, a Marblehead-based investment firm focused on startups.Chang has taught entrepreneurship at the Yale School of Management and currently teaches at Babson College, according to NEIA’s website.Taryn Hennebicque of TML Public Relations wrote in an email to WBJ Chang was not available for an interview this week and she had no further details regarding Suresh-Menon’s departure. She did share a statement from NEIA’s board of trustees chair.“The board is focused on moving NEIA forward with strong, steady leadership,” Jean Jones, co-founder and chair of the board of trustees at New England Innovation Academy, said in the Wednesday statement shared by Hennebicque.“Raymond Chang is uniquely qualified to step into this role given his deep history with the school as a co-founder and former trustee, his first-hand understanding of NEIA’s mission and culture, and his long-standing commitment to the community… His willingness to step in immediately reflects not only his experience, but also his serious and enduring commitment to NEIA’s students, families, and faculty.”The press release announcing Chang’s appointment on Tuesday said he plans to be involved in teaching at NEIA while also leading the school.“NEIA was founded to reimagine what education can and should be for the next generation,” Chang said in the Tuesday press release. “I am honored to serve as interim head of school and look forward to listening deeply, supporting student well-being, and working together to ensure NEIA continues to deliver an education grounded in innovation, entrepreneurship, and human-centered design.”Chang has an MBA from Yale School of Management and a master’s degree from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Among the companies he founded is GigaMedia, the first broadband telecom company in Asia, according to his Babson College website profile. Chang was a part of the NEXTGEN student entrepreneurship summit held by the academy in March. NEIA describes itself as a boarding and day school using human-centered design to teach empathy as a foundation for innovation, entrepreneurship, and leadership. The school received accreditation from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and federal approval to provide documentation for international students in 2024. NEIA serves 110 students in grades 6-12, with an average class size of 12, according to BoardingSchoolReview.com. Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the real estate and banking & finance industries.
