This snippet is for adding custom widget area above header. http://wpvkp.com/add-custom-widget-above-header-in-genesis-theme/

function

add_action( 'genesis_before_header', 'wpvkp_bhw', 9 );
function wpvkp_bhw() {
genesis_widget_area( 'before-header', array(
'before' = '<div class="bh widget-area">',
'after' ='</div>',
) );
}