UN Foundation's first President from 1998 to 2013. Ted Turner serves as the chairman of the board. Other current board members include Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan, former Deputy Secretary-General of the UN Mark Malloch-Brown, Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Infosys N. R. Narayana Murthy, Master of University College Oxford Valerie Amos, CEO of Verizon Communications Hans Vestberg, Former Prime Minister of Norway Gro Harlem Brundtland, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, President of the University of Miami Julio Frenk, Chairman of Endeavor Brazil Fábio Colletti Barbosa, Senior Partner of the Southbridge Group Dr. Frannie Léautier, Chair of the Captain Planet Foundation Laura Turner Seydel, and former UN Foundation Presidents Timothy E. Wirth and Kathy Calvin. Background of Foundation's involvement with the UN When the UN Foundation was founded, it was created to assist the UN with a variety of key issues, and bring attention to particular global problems. A top priority was to build upon previously-successful UN programs, including children's health, population and family planning issues, global environmental agreements, and the safe removal of land-mines. Additionally, it aimed to work with the private sector to raise funding for UN causes, and to raise awareness of the UN and its programs amongst the American population. The UN Foundation has had a close relationship with the UN and its leadership from the beginning in order to set goals and provide funding for particular programs. Over time, the UN Foundation evolved from being a simple funding conduit to creating and fostering its own initiatives and communities, which enabled it to support UN priorities more deeply and diversely. At present, it continues to build and expand its role as a strategic partner to the UN across multiple sectors. The UN Foundation’s current main issue areas include the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), gender equality, climate and environment, global health, and enhancing global cooperation. The Foundation has also continued working in areas of US-UN engagement and advancing data and technology for the SDGs. Issue areas Sustainable Development Goals One of the UN Foundation’s overarching goals is to share awareness, advance progress, understand critical gaps, and activate communities in support of the Sustainable Development Goals. The SDGs, a set of 17 interlinked goals designed to be a "blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all," were adopted in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly as a successor to the Millennium Development