Dusty Blackburn

Dusty Blackburn has spent most of her life with the two titles that mean the most to her, Mom and Nurse. She is a Chemotherapy Nurse working with oncology patients at Tennessee Cancer Specialists. Raised in a military family, Dusty spent most of her childhood moving around the country, which led to her love for travelling. Dusty has now lived in the Tri-Cities for over 30 years and considers East Tennessee her home. In 1993, she received her degree in nursing from East Tennessee State University. After her studies, she went on to work in multiple top-rated hospitals, providing care to some of the most vulnerable patients. Being able to use both her medical knowledge and engaging personality to care for those suffering through cancer continues to be an experience that can’t be described.  During the years that she was taking a break from work to raise her children, she continued to use her nursing skills by participating in medical mission trips and volunteering with her church and youth programs. Dusty has always had a heart for children and spent many years volunteering with youth groups at church and teen pregnancy groups, and served on a medical mission team in Haiti providing much needed medical care to remote villages and orphanages.

Dusty is an avid tennis player and has always led an active lifestyle. Along with playing tennis, she enjoys hiking, playing card games, and reading…usually multiple books at a time! Anyone who knows her well understands that when there is a Dallas Cowboys game on, there’s no chance she’s going to be anywhere else than coaching from the couch.  She and her husband Danny have a constant rivalry with their favorite teams and love playing Fantasy Football together.

Dusty and Danny Blackburn have a blended family with a total of seven children ranging in age from twenty nine down to six…YES, you did read that correctly!

While there has never been a dance floor she wasn’t ready to join as soon as music starts, the challenge of learning the dances for this amazing event is one that she welcomes and looks forward to.

After Danny was a dancer in 2017, Dusty has been involved in helping with planning the event and fell in love with seeing the lasting impact on the kids and staff at Jeremiah School from these efforts. She looks forward to many more years of philanthropy and fun with DWTTCS!