Montclair State athletic director Holly Gera was named the recipient of the 2004 National Association of Girls and Women in Sport Pathfinder Award representing the state of New Jersey. The NAGWS Pathfinder Award is given in recognition of  service and contributions to girls and women in sport.

The Pathfinder Award will be presented in New Orleans, LA, at the AAHPERD (American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance) National Convention on April 2, 2004.

It is the second award that Gera will receive this year. Back on February 8, she was honored for her outstanding achievements in sports and contributions to women's athletics by the New Jersey Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (NJAIAW) at the organization's annual luncheon at Seton Hall University.

Gera is in her 14th year at Montclair State as an athletic administrator, and was named the school’s third full-time athletic director in August of 1999. She spent her first six years at MSU as the school's senior women’s administrator and associate director of athletics. Gera originally came to the Red Hawks as the director of campus recreation in 1989. In her tenure, she has been responsible for many positive developments within the athletics department, such as the upgrade of several athletic facilities including the construction of MSU Soccer Park, and the new Montclair State University Softball Stadium which will open in April.

One of the key ingredients to the Montclair Athletics administrative success, Gera is also quite involved with many NCAA committees, including her nationally recognized work with softball and women’s lacrosse, and is a strong advocate of physical education and women’s awareness groups. In addition, she currently serves as president of the New Jersey Athletic Conference.