Harold Richman (15 May 1937 – 30 July 2009) was the founding director of Chapin Hall Center for Children, a policy research center at the University of Chicago known for pioneering methods of collecting, linking, and analyzing administrative data from public agencies to help monitor outcomes of children and youth and their families involved in U. S. public programs.

At age 22, Harold Richman received an A.B in American History and Literature from Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

In 1985, Harold Richman guided the board of Chapin Hall, a residential home created during the American Civil War to care for “half orphans," in redefining its mission.

He helped to shape a field of research around the array of activities and resources needed by all young people to thrive physically, socially, and academically and led work at Chapin Hall to document and evaluate community-building initiatives and the role philanthropy plays in those efforts.

Harold Richman provided public policy leadership throughout the world: He advised colleagues, government officials, and philanthropists on countless policy issues, as well as small neighborhood groups helping highly vulnerable communities.