Kelly Factor, Caddo Nation Vice Chairman

Hello, Caddo family. My name is Kelly Factor. I grew up in Anadarko and graduated from Anadarko High School in 1984. My mother was raised in Binger. I grew up participating in Caddo dances at the tribal complex ground and at Murrows. I am a former Caddo Tribal Princess from way back when! I am a great-great- granddaughter of Chief Whitebread; great granddaughter to Ralph and Ellen Murrow; granddaughter of Kenneth and Melva Jean Beaver Smith and daughter of Marion “Bunky” Beaver-Howell.

After high school, I received a bachelor’s degree in social work and master’s in Administration and Health Promotion/Disease Prevention from OU. I moved to DC to take a job at the Indian Health Service Headquarters in Rockville, MD, later moving to Cali for a job as Director of Family & Community Health, then became the Director of Health Promotion/Disease Prevention for Riverside/San Bernardino County Indian Health. There, we provided health education, wellness programs, and education and technical assistance to 7 reservation communities in the area. A large part of my position as the Director was not just overseeing staff and projects/programs, but also grant writing. 

I later went active duty and soon became a Commissioned Officer and was hired as the Clinic Director of the Anadarko Indian Health Center. I started and completed a renovation of the old facility I had been going to since I was a child. All the while serving as the CEO of the Lawton Service Unit, including the Indian Hospital. Shortly after completion of renovating the Anadarko Clinic, I applied and was selected as the Clinic Director over the El Reno and Watonga Indian Health Centers, serving numerous times as the CEO of the Clinton Service Unit. We met with tribal leaders on health issues within our IHS Service Units. 

I retired in 2017 as a Commander, so I am now a proud retired Native American woman veteran. I enjoy spending time with my husband, children, and two grandkids.