Prior to joining CPB, Erstling was the executive vice president and chief operating officer for the Association of Public Television Stations (APTS) where he oversaw the day-to-day activities and business functions of the Association. Among his activities on behalf of APTS, Erstling managed the deployment of the Digital Emergency Alert System for the Department of Homeland Security. He also led APTS’s work relating to consumer education for the DTV transition, and was the lead on the development of the American Archive for APTS.
Erstling currently sits on the board of the Open Mobile Video Coalition which was formed to accelerate the development and rollout of mobile DTV products and services. He is a member of the Communications Sector Coordinating Council for the Department of Homeland Security.
Prior to joining APTS in 1999, Erstling was the general manager of WPSX-TV and WPSU-FM, operated by Penn State University, serving 29 counties in central Pennsylvania and New York. He also served as director of educational communications for the University, managing services in support of the institution's Outreach and Cooperative Extension mission. He successfully established strategic partnerships with the community and business leaders, and expanded the service area for public radio to one of the largest unserved areas in the continental U.S. Erstling also served on the Pennsylvania Public Television Network Commission and was on the state’s advisory committee supporting Governor Ridge’s economic outreach to the Ontario, Canada, provincial government.
Erstling has held numerous broadcast management positions at WGBY-TV in Springfield, Mass., operated by the WGBH Educational Foundation, where he oversaw the development and production of many award-winning programs. He has produced and managed programming for local, regional and national distribution including Frontline, American Playhouse and national PBS specials, which have featured Bill Moyers, Paul Duke and Arlo Guthrie, among others.
Earlier Erstling was a producer/director at WJCT where he was responsible for 3,000 hours of local content over a three-year period. He also produced and directed one of the first multi-point satellite interconnected interviews on American television.