Professional Diversity Network Announces Donna Brazile Will be Joining Its Board of Directors

CHICAGO, July 23, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Professional Diversity Network, Inc. (Nasdaq:IPDN) ("PDN") announced today that Ms. Donna Brazile will be joining the Professional Diversity Network Board of Directors upon the completion of the pending merger with National Association of Professional Women ("NAPW").

"Our Company will be greatly enhanced with the addition of Ms. Brazile to our Board of Directors. As one of our nation's leading authorities on socioeconomic and political issues, Ms. Brazile is uniquely capable of advancing and accelerating our mission of providing economic opportunity to all Americans. Her legacy in this country includes gains made for economic, racial and gender injustices and she continues to advocate for diversity in all of her endeavors," commented Jim Kirsch, CEO of Professional Diversity Network. "Among her many accolades, Donna was the first African American to manage a presidential campaign and is a prolific lecturer, professor and political thought leader. She brings considerable knowledge and thought leadership to PDN and will be instrumental to us in our mission to drive diversity in the workplace across the United States."

"Donna is THE thought leader of the diversity discussion as a universal policy that leads to excellence in all aspects of society," said Star Jones, NAPW President and National Spokesperson. "I've known Donna since we were both teenage community volunteers, so I am doubly proud and honored to have her join PDN's Board of Directors. Her life's work proves that diversity increases dialogue, expands opportunity, fosters innovation and improves the social contract. She will no doubt bring her passion for political, social and economic progress to our efforts to have American business truly reflect the rich diversity of the American people."

"I'm thrilled with the opportunity to join the board of Professional Diversity Network (PDN) as they extend their reach by merging with National Association of Professional Women (NAPW).  I believe that diversity is important because it improves results. It doesn't matter what type of diversity we're talking about -- whether it's race, gender, class or geographical background -- when you have a group of people confronted with a problem, the solution they come up with is going to be better when the problem has been viewed from all different sides," said Ms. Brazile. "Studies have consistently shown that diversity encourages creative collaboration. It allows us to utilize the skills of everyone in the workforce. It provides us with a variety of strengths and perspectives. The diverse voices, faces or perspectives can help open doors to creativity in ways that more homogenous groups do not experience. It's time we face it -- that in the 21st century, we must encourage diversity in all aspects of life."

The merger agreement with NAPW provides that at the effective time of the merger, PDN will appoint four new individuals designated by NAPW to its board, one of whom will be Ms. Brazile. Ms. Brazile's appointment to PDN's board will take effect when the current board acts to appoint her and the merger closes.

About Professional Diversity Network

Professional Diversity Network (PDN) develops and operates online professional networking communities dedicated to serving diverse professionals in the United States and employers seeking to hire diverse talent. PDN's networking communities harness its relationship recruitment methodology to facilitate and empower professional networking within common affinities. PDN believes that those within a common affinity often are more aggressive in helping others within their respective group progress professionally. PDN operates these relationship recruitment affinity groups within the following sectors: Women, Hispanic Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, Disabled, Military Professionals, Lesbians, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) and Student and Graduates seeking to transition from education to career. The online platform of PDN provides employers a means to identify and acquire diverse talent and assist them with their efforts to comply with the Equal Employment Opportunity Office of Federal Contract Compliance Program.

About National Association of Professional

Women NAPW is one of the largest, most-recognized networking organizations of professional women in the country. Spanning virtually every industry and profession, National Association of Professional Women (NAPW) is a powerfully vibrant networking community with over 600,000 members and nearly 300 Local Chapters. NAPW members have diverse backgrounds, beliefs, perspectives and lifestyles with one common bond – their ability to succeed. NAPW's mission is to provide an exclusive, highly advanced networking forum to successful women executives, professionals and entrepreneurs where they can aspire, connect and achieve. Through innovative resources, unique tools and progressive benefits, professional women interact, exchange ideas, advance their knowledge and empower each other.

About Donna Brazile

Veteran Democratic political strategist Donna Brazile is an adjunct professor, author, syndicated columnist, television political commentator, Vice Chair of Voter Registration and Participation at the Democratic National Committee and former interim National Chair of the Democratic National Committee as well as the former chair of the DNC's Voting Rights Institute. Ms. Brazile worked on every presidential campaign from 1976 through 2000, when she became the first African American to manage a presidential campaign.

Since 2000, Ms. Brazile has lectured at over 125 colleges and universities across the country on such topics as Inspiring Civility in American Politics, Race Relations in the Age of Obama, Why Diversity Matters and Women in American Politics. Author of the best-selling memoir Cooking with Grease: Stirring the Pots in American Politics, Ms. Brazile is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, a syndicated newspaper columnist for Universal Uclick, a columnist for Ms. magazine and O, the Oprah Magazine, an on-air contributor to CNN and ABC, where she regularly appears on ABC's This Week.

She is currently on the board of the National Democratic Institute (NDI), National Institute for Civil Discourse and the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. Ms. Brazile is the proud recipient of honorary doctorate degrees from Louisiana State University, North Carolina A&T State University, Thomas Jefferson University, Grambling University, Northeastern Illinois University and Xavier University of Louisiana, the only historically Black, Catholic institution of higher education in the United States. Ms. Brazile is founder and managing director of Brazile & Associates LLC, a general consulting, grassroots advocacy and training firm based in Washington, DC.

Forward-Looking Statements

This document includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "plan," "project," "could," "should," "would," "continue," "seek," "target," "guidance," "outlook," "forecast" and other similar words. These forward-looking statements are based on the current objectives, beliefs, and expectations of PDN and NAPW, and they are subject to significant risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results and timing of certain events to differ materially from the information in the forward-looking statements. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ from such statements: the occurrence of any event, change, or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the Merger Agreement; the risk that a closing condition to the proposed Merger may not be satisfied; synergies and other benefits from the proposed merger may not be realized within the expected time frames; costs or difficulties related to integration matters might be greater than expected; unanticipated changes and competition in the online recruitment market; and other economic, business, competitive, and regulatory factors affecting the businesses of the PDN and NAPW generally, including those set forth in the filings of PDN with the SEC, especially in the "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" sections of its annual reports on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and other SEC filings. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof or as of the dates indicated in the statements. Neither PDN or NAPW assumes any obligation to publicly update or supplement any forward-looking statement to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting these forward-looking statements except as required by law. The parties currently anticipate that the closing of the merger will occur in the third quarter of 2014, however, PDN cannot predict the actual date on which the merger will be completed, if at all, because completion is subject to conditions beyond PDN's control.

CONTACT: PDN:
         David Mecklenburger, CFO
         312-614-0944
         dmecklenburger@prodivnet.com

         Capital Markets Advisor
         Merriman Capital, Inc.
         Douglas Rogers, Managing Director
         Head of Capital Markets Advisory Group
         415-248-5612
         drogers@merrimanco.com

         NAPW:
         Chris Wesser
         General Counsel
         (516) 659-8560
         cwesser@napw.com

Released July 23, 2014