A new national poll from the nonpartisan think tank Atlantic Council shows a majority of Americans support policy changes that would lead to more U.S. engagement with Cuba.

Maria de los Angeles Torres, professor of Latin American and Latino studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago and executive director of the Inter-University Program for Latino Research, can discuss generational changes and other factors behind contemporary Cuba-related opinions.

In the early 1960′s at the age of 6, Torres was one of over 14,000 Cuban minors sent to the U.S. in "Operation Pedro Pan," a U.S.-led rescue for children whose parents opposed the revolutionary government of Fidel Castro.

Torres brings a historical and personal perspective to her research on contemporary issues of immigration and citizenship in America. She also has expertise in U.S.-Cuban relations, Latino politics in the U.S., Latin American political thought, and youth politics in the Americas.

She is the author of two books, "The Lost Apple: Operation Pedro Pan, Cuban Children in the U.S. and the Promise of a Better Future" and "In the Land of Mirrors: The Politics of Cuban Exiles in the United States."