Our story is about writing your next chapter the way you’ve always wanted to.
Confianza Collective is a storywork studio dedicated to creating space for community-rooted leaders to write the story of who they are, what they’ve built, and where they’re going in a way that feels aligned with who they are now and how they want to move into their next chapter.
Our Founder’s Story
In 2024, I (Rachel) left my career in higher education to start Confianza Collective. As a writing professor and community-engaged researcher, I had worked with writers and storytellers from all walks of life and many different backgrounds: in classrooms, writing centers, and community projects. But it was through the process of co-developing a storytelling project called Cuentos de Confianza (Stories of Trust/Confidence) that I started on the path toward Confianza Collective in 2021.
I became a founder, in a sense, by accident. I wasn’t looking to start or build anything, especially while navigating my second year of motherhood in the thick of the Covid pandemic. But amid the stress of juggling university work and pandemic parenting, I found joy in creating something new with my community partners. And it all began with the invitation to teach a writing class for community health promotors (promotores de salud).
Through a series of writing workshops and conversations, Cuentos de Confianza grew into something beautiful and its website launched in the same month that I started working as a consultant as a “summer job” on the side of teaching. For a couple years, I balanced teaching, research, consulting, and Cuentos. But as resources reduced and pressure increased with work at the university, I increasingly wanted to show up for the consulting and Cuentos work more and more.
Cuentos gave me the experience of working one-on-one with incredible women who were small business owners, solopreneurs, and nonprofit leaders rooted in their communities. As I guided and supported them in writing their stories through workshops and one-on-one consultations, I felt fulfilled in a way I hadn’t before. I kept wanting to carve out time and space for that kind of work until I finally hit a point when I asked myself, “At what point does this become something more?”
Part of Cuentos was also working with a small team who helped develop the website and support the writers in translation and editing their stories in English and Spanish. Our team (Raquel, Elida, Rocio, and Danielle) all started together through Cuentos. Confianza is central to how we think about storytelling and writing. Effective storytelling helps leaders build trust to help others get to know them, and they build confidence through the process of writing (and rewriting) their ever-evolving stories.
El corazón (the heart) of Confianza Collective is this: a collective of community-rooted leaders who are building businesses and programs, showing up for their families, and supporting their communities. We show up for them to create space for clarifying, updating, and strategically sharing the story behind their work.
Our Team
Rachel Bloom-Pojar, PhD
FounderRachel is the founder of Confianza Collective. She has worked with storytellers, community health leaders, and writers for 15 years. Rachel started her consulting practice in 2021 working closely with promotores de salud (health promoters) and reproductive healthcare organizations on capacity building and training design.
She is a published author, has secured over $150K in grant funding for community-engaged projects, and is well-versed in writing for different audiences. She is also the mom of two boys and enjoys writing at coffee shops around Milwaukee.
Raquel Quevedo
Lead TranslatorRaquel is a freelance translator who manages translation (English-Spanish) and Spanish language editing at Confianza Collective. She has worked closely with each of the writers for the Cuentos de Confianza project and she provides ongoing support related to social media, blog posts, and storywork projects that required translation. She recently graduated with her Bachelor’s degree in Linguistics at UW-Milwaukee where she was a first-generation student with Guatemalan heritage.
You can read more about Raquel here.
Elida Rebolledo
Cuentos AdvisorElida is a promotora de salud (health promoter) who has worked with the Latino/a/e community for more than 18 years, helping them connnect with resources and teaching them to exercise their rights especially in the area of reproductive justice. She wrote her own story for Cuentos de Confianza to inspire others to also do the same. Elida is an advisor for Cuentos programming and community outreach.
You can read Elida’s story here.
Rocio Cornejo-Roderick
Cuentos AdvisorOriginally from Lima, Peru, Rocio is a promotora de salud and advisor for Cuentos programming and community outreach. She also runs a nonprofit organization that provides education and opportunities for women and young people in Peru.
You can read more about Rocio’s story here.
Danielle Koepke, PhD
Writing ConsultantDanielle is a writing consultant at Confianza Collective and co-founder of the Cuentos de Confianza project, for which she designed the website.
She has over 8 years of experience in community-engaged research, university writing instruction and tutoring, and collaborations with local community partners. She is currently working on a book project that explores stories of reproductive injustice shared on social media platforms.