Kneeland Youngblood

Kneeland Youngblood (born December 13, 1955) is an African-American physician, businessman, and political figure. He is the co-founder of the private equity firm Pharos Capital Group, LLC, which focuses on providing later stage funding, generally for growth, acquisitions, and recapitalizations, to undercapitalized healthcare and business services oriented companies located in underserved regions across the nation. Youngblood is listed as a top bundler for Barack Obama, having bundled more than $200,000.

Youngblood was born in Galena Park, Texas. He became involved in politics at a young age, and was a page in the Texas State Legislature at age 14. Youngblood attended Princeton University and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1978. Before he graduated (at the risk of expulsion) Youngblood participated in a sit-in calling for Princeton to divestment from South Africa under apartheid.

Youngblood traveled to Oxford, England, and Stockholm, Sweden, before returning to the United States. He attended the University of Texas, Southwestern Medical School at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and earned his M.D. in 1982. He was a resident in Emergency Medicine at the Emory University School of Medicine from 1983 to 1985, training primarily at Grady Memorial Hospital. Youngblood worked in medicine from 1985 to 1997 as an emergency medicine physician at the Medical Center of Plano.

From 1993 to 1999, Youngblood served on the board of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) as a trustee and chairman of the Fund's Real Estate Committee, directing asset allocations and managing the fund's $1.4 billion portfolio. In 1994, President Bill Clinton nominated Youngblood to the Board of Directors of the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC). While on the board Youngblood traveled to Africa and met Nelson Mandela, which led him to write the essay "From Sit-in to Soweto." While with the Clinton administration, he also served on the Task Force on National Health Care Reform headed by First Lady Hillary Clinton.

In 1997, Youngblood, along with Michael Devlin and Robert Crants, founded Pharos Capital Group, LLC, a private equity firm.

Youngblood's other board memberships include: AMR Investments, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Burger King, The Gap, Inc., and the City of Dallas Employee Retirement System. He is Director Emeritus of the U.S. Enrichment Corporation and iStar Financial, a NYSE-traded real estate investment trust (REIT). He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations..