College Honors 4 With MLK Leadership Awards During Ceremony In Bucks

NEWTOWN, PA — The Bucks County Community College this month paid tribute to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with the presentation of its fifth annual MLK Leadership Awards.

“Dr. King challenged us not only to dream, but to act,” said Dr. Patrick M. Jones, president and CEO of Bucks County Community College. “The recipients of this year’s Martin Luther King Leadership Awards embody that challenge through their commitment to economic mobility and civic engagement. As an institution founded in 1964 committed to open access to higher education, we are honored to recognize leaders who share our belief that education and opportunity are powerful forces for improving lives, both for individuals and communities.”

This year’s honorees are Angèle Bell, the corporate leadership award; Marlene Pray, the community leadership award; Barbara Simmons, the humanitarian leadership award; and Kayla Wulffleff, the student leadership award.

Various dignitaries assembled at Bucks County Community College to celebrate four recipients of the college’s fifth annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Leadership Awards. Honored were (front row, from left) Community Leader Marlene Pray, Corporate Leader Angèle Bell, Student Leader Kayla Wulffleff, and Humanitarian Leader Barbara Simmons. On hand to congratulate the recipients were (in back, from left) Bucks County Community College President & CEO Dr. Patrick M. Jones, Bristol Township Councilwoman Marcia Dunlap, Seth McLean from Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick’s office, Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie, State Rep. Perry Warren (D-31), State Senator Steve Santarsiero (D-10), Bucks County Sherriff Danny Ceisler, Bucks County District Attorney Joe Khan, and Bensalem Supervisor and Bucks County Community College Trustee Ed Tokmajian. (Eric Parker, BCCC)

Corporate Leadership Award: Angele Bell

Angèle Bell’s 15-year career spans aerospace/Department of Defense and pharmaceuticals, blending expertise in logistics, supply chain, manufacturing operations, global health, and community engagement. A true generalist and global citizen, Bell has led initiatives from strengthening last-mile medicine access as a Merck Global Health Fellow in Senegal to consulting with the World Bank’s Global Financing Facility in Mozambique, where she helped design sustainable distribution models.

At Merck, she has championed diversity and inclusion by building systems that enable D&I work to operate as a business driver. Currently based at the West Point site, Bell leads community outreach and engagement. Through her work, she forges relationships with two-year academic and trade institutions and community-based organizations; expands experiential learning opportunities, and embeds skills-based hiring practices while demystifying the pharmaceutical industry for K–12 students and beyond.

Originally from Cameroon, Bell migrated to the U.S. to pursue higher education, earning a bachelor’s degree in international business from Eastern Mennonite University and an MBA from Liberty University.

Angèle Bell (center), Community Engagement Lead at Merck – West Point Site, was recognized with the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Corporate Leadership Award. Dr. Patrick M. Jones (right), the college’s President & CEO, presented the Skippack resident with an engraved bell from Malmark Bellcraftsmen in Plumsteadville. Bell was also congratulated by Dr. Vail Garvin (left), recipient of the 2023 Corporate Leadership Award. (CREDIT: Eric Parker, BCCC)

Community Leadership Award: Marlene Pray

Marlene Pray has more than 30 years of experience in community organizing around topics such as LGBTQ+ issues, racial and social justice, sexuality education, environmental and outdoor education, social-emotional wellness, and human rights.

In 2011, Pray was elected to Doylestown Borough Council, where she spearheaded an LGBT anti-discrimination ordinance. She was appointed to the Bucks County Human Relations Council; helped launch the Bucks County Partnership for Healthy Teens; and founded Planned Parenthood Keystone’s Rainbow Room - Bucks County’s only center for lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/queer youth, where she is director and coordinator for LGBTQ+ education.

Pray serves on the boards of NAACP Bucks County and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Bucks County, and on the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility Committee of the Bucks County Historical Society. She’s a facilitator of the program White People Confronting Racism, and is the Community Advisory Group Facilitator for the Michener Museum’s “Behind These Walls” project on its history as a jail, focusing on prison reform.

The California native is a PhD candidate in human sexuality education with a focus on racial justice at Widener University. She facilitated the Alternatives to Violence Project, working with incarcerated people. Pray is also a mother, homicide survivor, earth-based celebrant, and leader of the Rise Up Resistance Community Chorus.

Marlene Pray (center), founder and director of The Rainbow Room at Planned Parenthood Keystone and a volunteer on the boards of several nonprofit organizations, was recognized with the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Community Leadership Award. Dr. Patrick M. Jones (right), the college’s President & CEO, presented the Doylestown resident with an engraved bell from Malmark Bellcraftsmen in Plumsteadville. Pray was also congratulated by 2025 Community Leader Angela Nutter. (Eric Parker, BCCC)

Humanitarian Leadership Award: Barbara Simmons

Barbara Simmons has served as the executive director of The Peace Center for more than 30 years. She has created prevention and intervention programs to address conflict, violence, racism, and bigotry in over 300 schools, businesses and communities in the tri-state area. Her work in coalition-building – such as with the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Task Force and the Bucks County Violence Prevention Task Force – has helped the community view violence as a public health issue related to the cycle of trauma.

Simmons has been a professor at Arcadia University’s International Peace and Conflict Resolution master’s program for more than 20 years. She has delivered trainings and workshops in Rwanda, South Africa, and Northern Ireland on topics such as diplomacy, peacebuilding and reconciliation.

Simmons was the creator and producer of PeaceTalks audio documentaries to bring awareness of peacebuilding across the world, including Nagasaki and Hiroshima, Japan; Israel and Palestine, and throughout the U.S. The programs aired on NPR, Public Radio International, and many other stations, with legendary journalist Walter Cronkite hosting several programs.

Simmons served as ambassador to WALKING WHILE BLACK: L.O.V.E. Is The Answer, serves on the Board of the Nakashima Foundation for Peace, the Executive Committee of the Bucks County NAACP, and co-chairs the MLK Peace & Justice Summit. She is Clerk of Newtown Friends Meeting.

Barbara Simmons (center), executive director of The Peace Center, was recognized with the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Humanitarian Leadership Award. Dr. Patrick M. Jones (right), President & CEO of the college, presented the Newtown resident with an engraved bell from Malmark Bellcraftsmen in Plumsteadville. Simmons was also congratulated by 2025 Humanitarian Leader Damita Harvey Harris. (Eric Parker, BCCC)

Student Leadership Award: Kayla Anne Wulffleff

Kayla Anne Wulffleff is an early childhood education major at Bucks County Community College. The Quakertown resident is dedicated to addressing disparities within her community, particularly those related to homelessness, food insecurity, and poverty, through involvement with her church and community organizations. She also shares Dr. King’s commitment to faith-based initiatives and to educating and empowering youth.

In 2023, Wulffleff earned the rank of Eagle Scout with Troop 55 in the Washington Crossing Council of Scouting America, becoming the first woman in Upper Bucks to achieve this distinction. A member of the Order of the Arrow, the National Honor Society for scouts, she continues to advocate for equality for girls in scouting and remains actively involved.

Wulffleff also serves as the Youth Ministry Director, Vacation Bible School Director, and Church Council member at Christ’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Trumbauersville. There, she works closely with children and instills values aligned with those championed by Dr. King. Additionally, she collaborates with the local VFW commander and mayor to support and organize community events.

At Bucks, Wulffleff is highly engaged at the Upper Bucks Campus, working closely with the director and assistant director to organize campus events through the Students Planning Activities club. She is also an active member of the Centurion Leadership program.

Kayla Wulffleff (center), an early education major at Bucks County Community College, was recognized with the college’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Student Leadership Award. Dr. Patrick M. Jones (right), President and CEO of the College, presented the Quakertown resident with an engraved bell from Malmark Bellcraftsmen in Plumsteadville. Wulffleff was also congratulated by 2025 Student Leader Leah Lovelace-Square. (Eric Parker, BCCC)