Vermonters will have an opportunity to share their concerns and become better informed regarding the increasing role schools and government have been playing in their family’s health care decisions.

Children’s Health Day on Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026 at the Vermont State House includes presentations by two national speakers and numerous opportunities to engage with representatives and the press.

The goal is to empower attendees with information regarding changes in public health policy at the state, federal and local level, how these changes impact parental rights, and what can be done to protect children’s health in the future.

The day begins with Children’s Health Defense (CHD) CEO, Mary Holland’s testimony before the House Health Care committee. This will be followed by an opportunity to connect with legislators over lunch, then a press conference and rally, and concludes with an in-depth informational session with both Ms. Holland and special education integration expert, Megan Mansell.

CHD is an organization that was founded by Robert F. Kennedy to challenge federal and state governments, pharmaceutical companies, corporations and conflicted regulatory agencies to end the practices that are harming children’s health through education, advocacy, litigation and research.

CHD’s current CEO, Mary Holland, has been involved in the vaccine choice and health freedom movement for over two decades. She explains the focus of her work:

“Once I learned about the liability protection that industry and healthcare providers enjoy and the suppression of accurate science and information about vaccine risk and injury, I understood the need for immediate change. I’ve been devoted to that change ever since.”

Before joining CHD’s staff in the fall of 2019, Mary Holland directed the Graduate Lawyer’s Program at New York University’s School of Law for fifteen years and lectured at Columbia Law School on international human rights advocacy. She has frequently testified in state legislatures around the country and has co-authored two books on vaccine safety.

Ms. Holland is returning to the Vermont Statehouse on February 3rd because she has been invited, once again, to testify before the House Committee on Health Care. There are several bills in the Health Care committee which address informed consent and parental rights. Ms. Holland’s testimony is intended to give committee members a clear understanding of the urgency of these issues and why consideration of these bills is a priority for Vermonters.

Following her testimony at 10:00 am, Ms. Holland will be available for conversation at an informal gathering in the cafeteria from 11:00 – 1:00. Supporters are encouraged to invite their local representatives to join them for a meal and conversation so that they can better understand the impact of these issues on their constituent’s lives.

At 1:00 there will be a press conference and rally in the Cedar Creek Room led by advocates of the various health choice bills under consideration this session. This is an opportunity for families, educators, health care providers and other community members, as well as representatives and the press, to gather together in the people’s house where positive action can be made.

At 2:00 pm an Informational Event with a panel discussion and Q&A session will be held in Room 11. Members of the panel will include the event’s two special guests, Mary Holland and Megan Mansell, as well as two local healthcare providers.

Ms. Mansell, who will be attending virtually from Florida, will speak about the required use of face masks in schools.

A former district education director over special populations integration, serving students who are profoundly disabled, immunocompromised, undocumented, autistic, and behaviorally challenged, Ms. Mansell also has a background in hazardous environs Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) applications.

Ms. Mansell was a presenter for The Vermont Forum to Assess the Respiratory Hazards of Masks in Burlington, Vermont in 2023. She is also author of the book Accommodating Chaos: Correcting Course on a Plague of Disinformation, in which she explains:

“Since the beginning of the pandemic, I have cautioned that we were following public health guidance that was entirely mismatched to the actual threat at hand, rooted in a simple misapplication in particulate dynamics. This created a false sense of security, endangering our truly vulnerable populations.

“It has been my aim to show our exact missteps in airborne pathogenic mitigation, as well as what to do instead to better serve immunocompromised populations during a crisis.”

Ms. Mansell will be speaking in support of House Bill 393: An act related to the prohibition of face mask requirements for in-school attendance.

Children’s Health Defense New England and Vermont Stands Up are working together to sponsor this event, the second of its kind, with the goal of encouraging legislators to work together, on both sides of the aisle, to improve the health of the children in our state.

For those who cannot attend in person, portions of the day’s events will be live-streamed over three different platforms: Montpelier’s own ORCA Media, Children’s Health Defense-TV and the Vermont Back Porch, a social-media platform organized by Vermont Stands Up specifically for Vermonters who are United in Freedom.

More information about the event, including online streaming options, is available at VermontStandsUp.org.