Rachel Bloom-Pojar is the founder and director of Confianza Collective, a virtual storywork studio that supports community-engaged health programs with getting stories written down about their history and impact. She is also a consultant and storytelling coach.

Rachel has always been interested in the power of stories for creating social change. She worked in higher education as a writing teacher for 13 years and is an experienced qualitative researcher who led multiple grant-funded projects in collaboration with community health leaders and Spanish speaking communities in the Dominican Republic and the U.S. She has a Bachelor’s degree in English and Spanish and a PhD in Rhetoric and Composition.

In 2021, Rachel co-founded Cuentos de Confianza, a community writing project that features stories written by promotoras de salud (Latina health promoters) about their lived experiences and community work on the path toward reproductive justice. That project inspired the vision for Confianza Collective, which she founded in 2025 after deciding to leave her tenured faculty position at UW-Milwaukee, where she helped build and lead a graduate program in public rhetorics and community engagement.

Rachel takes a trauma-informed and culturally sustaining approach to her work with storytellers. She specializes in working with storytellers who share experiences related to reproductive health and justice, and she can work with clients in English and Spanish.

Originally from the suburbs of Chicago, Rachel lives near Milwaukee, Wisconsin with her husband, two boys, and dog named Luna.