Colonel Tesselaar was raised in Grandview, Prince Edward Island, where he first put on a uniform as a member of the 327 Southern Kings Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron. He joined the Canadian Forces in 1994 through the Regular Officer Training Plan (ROTP) and attended Collège Militaire Royal de St-Jean and the Royal Military College of Canada. Upon graduation with a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering in 1999, he completed Infantry Officer training and was posted to the First Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment (1 RCR).

Over the following twenty-five years, Colonel Tesselaar has had a varied and rewarding career. He has deployed on international operations in Bosnia (2001), Afghanistan (2007 and 2010-11), and Iraq (2022-23), as well as domestically in support of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. He commanded the 3rd Canadian Division Training Centre in Wainwright, Alberta where, among other duties, he was responsible for the BOLD EAGLE Indigenous Youth Program.

Colonel Tesselaar is a graduate of the Land Forces Technical Staff Programme at RMC (2003), Army Operations Course (2005), and the Joint Command and Staff Programme (2013) at the Canadian Forces College, where he completed a Master’s in Defence Studies. He completed the National Security Programme in 2025.

As a senior officer, Colonel Tesselaar has been employed as the Deputy Commander of the 5th Canadian Division Support Group, also known as Base Gagetown. He was seconded to the Privy Council Office, and recently was the Director of Current Operations on the Strategic Joint Staff. He assumed command of the 3rd Canadian Division Support Group in Edmonton, Alberta in July 2025.

Colonel Tesselaar is married with four children.