Mr. Baird is currently teaching music at Campbell Collegiate in Regina, Saskatchewan. He has taught band and choir in Ontario at the elementary, secondary and university level and in the Music Education departments of the University of Toronto, the University of Northern Colorado and the University of Victoria.

Russ is a past chairman of the Canadian Choral Festival and was the founder of Canada’s largest educational high school choral festival, the Ontario Vocal Festival. He served for six years as the International Chair of Vocal Jazz with the International Association of Jazz Educators and was also the IAJE Journal vocal jazz editor for four years. Mr. Baird's love for music education manifests itself in an unfailing enthusiasm for seeing students of all ages experience the true joy and soulfulness of music made artfully.