He was born in Portadown, the brother of Robin, and a great-grandchild of Robert Glendinning.
[2] Glendinning joined the Ulster Defence Regiment in the early 1970s and served in Armagh.
[citation needed] He became the Chief Executive of the Community Relations Council, before becoming a consultant on "cultural diversity, community relations and transition from conflict" establishing the peace-building charity Diversity Challenges.
He has served as Coordinator since 2002[6] Diversity Challenges worked with culturally specific groups including the Loyal Orders Bands, the GAA, and others to promote change to recognise the increasing cultural diversity.
[7] He was chairperson of the Northern Ireland Asscoation of Citizens Advice Bureaux in the 1990s.