Baird earned a B.A. in political science in 1974 from the University of California, Berkeley and a J.D. in 1977 from the Boalt Hall School of Law at UC Berkeley.
Baird earned an A.D. with a joint degree in political science and communications and public policy, Phi Betta Kappa, in 1974 from the University of California, Berkeley. She earned a J.D. in 1977 from the Boalt Hall School of Law at UC Berkeley.