Glen was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He received a BA (1974) and a BSW (1979) from the University of Manitoba. Following graduation from the BSW program, he worked for the Province of Manitoba. Glen lived in the City of Thompson, a mining community located about 760 kilometers north of Winnipeg. He worked 13 years for the provincial government. During that time he was a child welfare worker, a supervisor in child welfare, and the regional coordinator of community mental health services. He practiced social work in Thompson as well as many remote and isolated communities throughout northern Manitoba. He organized and established a local branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) that became the main agency for the delivery of housing to marginalized groups in Thompson.
Glen took a leave to complete his MSW at the University of British Columbia and graduated in 1990. He later taught two years for the University of Manitoba Social Work Access Program located in Thompson. In 1994 he joined the School of Social Work at the University of Northern British Columbia where he served in various roles including Field Director, BSW Coordinator, MSW Coordinator, and Chair. He developed the Field Education Program and trained agency based Field Supervisors. Glen is a Registered Clinical Social Worker (RCSW) in the Province of British Columbia. He received a PhD in Social Work from Memorial University in 2003. He has previously served on the BCASW Board as well as the Board of the BC College of Social Workers, the Steering Committee for the National Sector Study of the Social Work Profession, the Provincial Division Board of CMHA and the National Board of CMHA. He is currently a member of the Commission on Accreditation for the Canadian Association of Social Work Education.
Glen is interested in northern and remote social work practice and issues such as the recruitment and retention of social workers, service delivery methods, and aspects of mental health and child welfare practice. Glen is married and has two children and three grandchildren.